Church History 1.22–1.33
Greek text: PG 67 (OCR text layer from the Bavarian State Library, cleaned for this site).English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0). Compare: Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 2 (1890).
Chapter 1
1.22PG 67:135–139
Ἀλλὰ μεταξὺ τοῦ χρηστοῦ σίτου εἴωθε καὶ ζιζάνια φύεσθαι. Φθόνος γὰρ τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς ἐφεδρεύειν φιλεῖ. Παρεφύη γὰρ μικρὸν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν Κωνσταντίνου χρόνων - τῷ ἀληθεῖ Χριστιανισμῷ, Ἑλληνίζων Χριστιανισμὸς, καθάπερ καὶ τοῖς προφήταις ψευδοπροφῆται, καὶ ἀποστόλοις ψευδαπόστολοι παρεφύοντο. Τηνικαῦτα γὰρ τὸ Ἑμπεδοκλέους τοῦ παρ' Ἕλλησι φιλοσόφου δόγμα, διὰ τοῦ Μανιχαίου Χριστιανισμὸν ὑπεκρίνατο. Περὶ οὗ Εὐσέβιος μὲν ὁ Παμφίλου ἐν τῇ ἑβδόμῃ τῆς Ἐκκλησιαστικῆς ἱστορίας ἐπεμνήσθη· οὐ μὴν ἀκριβῶς διηγήσατο. Διόπερ τὸ παραλειφθὲν ἐκείνῳ ἀναπληρῶσαι ἀναγκαῖον ἡγοῦμαι. Γνωσθήσεται γὰρ, τίς τε ὢν ὁ Μανιχαῖος καὶ πόθεν, τοιαῦτα ἐτόλμησε. Σκυθιανός τις Σαρακηνὸς γυναῖκα εἶχεν αἰχμάλωτον ἐκ τῶν ἄνω Θηβῶν· δι᾿ ἣν τὴν Αίγυπτον οἰκήσας, καὶ τὴν Αἰγυπτίων παιδείαν μαθὼν, τὴν Ἐμπεδοκλέους καὶ Πυθαγόρου δόξαν εἰς τὸν Χριστιανισμὸν παρήγαγε. Δύο φύσεις εἰπὼν, ἀγαθήν τε καὶ πονηρὰν, ὡς καὶ Ἐμπεδοκλῆς, νεῖ(κος ὀνομάζων τὴν πονηρὰν, φιλίαν δὲ τὴν ἀγαθήν. Τούτου δὲ τοῦ Σκυθιανοῦ μαθητής γίνεται Βούδδας, πρότερον Τερέβινθος καλούμενος. Ὅςτις ἐπὶ τὴν Βαβυλωνίαν χώραν ὁρμήσας, ἥτις ὑπὸ Περσῶν οἰκεῖται, πολλὰ περὶ ἑαυτοῦ ἐτερατεύετο, φάσκων ἐκ παρθένου γεγενῆσθαι, καὶ ἐν ὄρεσιν ἀνατετράφθαι. Εἶτα συγγράφει βιβλία τέσσαρα, ἓν μὲν ἐπονομάσας τῶν Μυστηρίων· ἕτερον δὲ, τὸ Εὐαγγέλιον· καὶ τὸν Θησαυρὸν τρίτον, καὶ τὰ Κεφάλαια τέταρτον. Τελετὰς δὲ τινας ποιεῖν σχηματιζόμενος, ἐδισκεύθη ὑπὸ πνεύματος, καὶ οὕτως ἀπώλετο. Γυνὴ δέ τις παρ' ᾗ κατέλυεν, ἔθαψεν αὐτόν· καὶ τὰ ἐκείνου χρήματα κατασχοῦσα, παιδάριον ὠνήσατο, περὶ ἑπτὰ ἔτη τὴν ἡλικίαν, ὀνόματι Κούβρικον· τοῦτον ἐλευθερώσασα, καὶ γράμματα ἐκδιδάξασα, μετὰ χρόνον ἐτελεύτησε, πάντα αὐτῷ τὰ χρήματα τοῦ Τερεβίνθου καταλείψατα, καὶ τὰ βιβλία ἅπερ ἦν συντάξας ἐκεῖνος, ὑπὸ Σκυθιανῷ παιδευόμενος. Ταῦτα λαβὼν ὁ ἀπελεύθερος Κούβρικος, καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ Περσῶν μέρη χωρήσας, μετονομάζει μὲν ἑαυτὸν Μάνην· τὰ δὲ τοῦ Βούδδα ἤτοι Τερεβίνθου βιβλία, ὡς οἰκεῖα, τοῖς ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ πλανηθεῖσιν ἐξέδωκεν. Αἱ τῶν βίβλων τοίνυν ὑποθέσεις, χριστιανίζουσι μὲν τῇ φωνῇ, τοῖς δὲ δόγμασιν ἑλληνίζουσι· καὶ γὰρ πολλοὺς Θεοὺς σέβειν ὁ Μανιχαῖος προτρέπεται ἄθεος ὢν, καὶ τὸν ἥλιον προσκυνεῖν διδάσκει· καὶ εἰμαρμένην εἰσάγει, καὶ τὸ ἐφ᾽ ἡμῖν ἀναιρεῖ· καὶ μετενσωμάτωσιν δογματίζει φανερῶς, Ἐμπεδοκλέους καὶ Πυθαγόρου καὶ Αἰγυπτίων ταῖς δόξαις ἀκολουθήσας · καὶ τὸν Χριστὸν ἐν σαρκὶ γεγονέναι οὐ βούλεται, φάντασμα αὐτὸν λέγων εἶναι. καὶ νόμον καὶ προφήτας ἀθετεῖ· καὶ ἑαυτὸν ὀνομάζει Παράκλητον· ἅπερ πάντα, ἀλλότρια τῆς ὀρθοδόξου Ἐκκλησίας, καθέστηκεν. Ἐν δὲ ταῖς ἐπιστολαῖς, καὶ ἀπόστολον ἑαυτὸν ὀνομάζειν ἐτόλμησεν. ᾿Αλλά τοῦ τηλικούτου ψεύδους ἀξίαν εὔρετο δίκην διὰ τοιάνδε αἰτίαν· Τοῦ βασιλέως Περσῶν υἱὸς νόσῳ περιπεπτώκει· ὁ δὲ πατὴρ, τὸ δὴ λεγόμενον, πάντα λίθον ἐπίνει, τὸν υἱὸν σωθῆναι βουλόμενος· μαθών τε περὶ τοῦ Μανιχαίου, καὶ τὰς τερατείας αὐτοῦ νομίσας εἶναι ἀληθεῖς, ὡς ἀπόστολον μεταπέμπεται, πιστεύσας δι᾿ αὐτοῦ σωθήσεσθαι τὸν υἱόν. Ὁ δὲ, παραγενόμενος μετὰ τοῦ ἐπιπλάστου σχήματος ἐγχειρίζεται σ τὸν τοῦ βασιλέως υἱόν. Ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς ἑωρακὼς ὅτι ὁ παῖς ἐν ταῖς χερσὶν αὐτοῦ ἐτεθνήκει, συγκλείσας αὐτὸν, τιμωρεῖσθαι ἕτοιμος ἦν. Ὁ δὲ διαδρὰς ἐπὶ τὴν Μεσοποταμίαν α, διασώζεται. Μαθών τε αὐτὸν ὁ τῶν Περσῶν βασιλεὺς ἐκεῖ διατρίβειν, ἀνάρπαστον ποιήσας, ζῶντα ἐξέδειρεν· καὶ ἀχύρων τὴν δορὰν πληρώσας, πρὸ τῆς πύλης τῆς πόλεως προῦθηκε. Ταῦτα δὲ ἡμεῖς, οὐ πλάσαντες λέγομεν, ἀλλὰ διὰ λόγου ᾿Αρχελάου τοῦ ἐπισκόπου Κασχάρων, μιᾶς τῶν ἐν Μεσοποταμίᾳ πόλεων, ἐντυχόντες συνηγάγομεν. Αὐτὸς γὰρ Αρχέλαος διαλεχθῆναι αὐτῷ φησι κατὰ πρόσωπον, καὶ τὰ προγεγραμμένα εἰς τὸν βίον αὐτοῦ ἐκτίθεται. Τοῖς οὖν ἀγαθοῖς ἐνακμάζουσιν ὁ φθόνος, καθὰ ἔφην, ἐφεδρεύειν φιλεῖ. Τίς δὲ ἡ αἰτία, δι᾽ ἦν ὁ ἀγαθὸς Θεὸς τοῦτο γίνεσθαι συγχωρεῖ, πότερον γυμνάσαι τὰ ἀγαθὰ τῶν δογμάτων βουλόμενος τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ τῇ πίστει προσγινομένην ἀλαζονείαν ἐκκόπτειν· ἢ ὅπως ποτὲ ἔχοι, δυσχερής μὲν καὶ μακρὰ ἡ ἀπόδοσις· οὐκ εὐκαίρως δὲ νῦν ἐξετάζεται · οὔτε γὰρ δόγματα πρόκειται γυμνάζειν ἡμῖν, οὔτε τοὺς περὶ Προνοίας καὶ κρίσεως τοῦ Θεοῦ δυσευρέτους λόγους κινεῖν, ἀλλ' ἱστορίαν γεγονότων περὶ τὰς Ἐκκλησίας πραγμάτων ὡς οἷόν τε διηγήσασθαι. "Ὅπως μὲν οὖν μικρὸν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν Κωνσταντίνου χρόνων ἡ Μανιχαίων παρεφύει θρησκεία, εἴρηται· ἐπανέλθωμεν δὲ ἐπὶ τοὺς χρόνους τῆς προκειμένης ἱστορίας.
Alla metaxy tou chrēstou sitou eiōthe kai zizania phyesthai. Phthonos gar tois agathois ephedreuein philei. Parephyē gar mikron emprosthen tōn Kōnstantinou chronōn - tǭ alēthei Christianismǭ, Hellēnizōn Christianismos, kathaper kai tois prophētais pseudoprophētai, kai apostolois pseudapostoloi parephyonto. Tēnikauta gar to Hempedokleous tou par' Hellēsi philosophou dogma, dia tou Manichaiou Christianismon hypekrinato. Peri hou Eusebios men ho Pamphilou en tę̄ hebdomę̄ tēs Ekklēsiastikēs historias epemnēsthē; ou mēn akribōs diēgēsato. Dioper to paraleiphthen ekeinǭ anaplērōsai anankaion hēgoumai. Gnōsthēsetai gar, tis te ōn ho Manichaios kai pothen, toiauta etolmēse. Skythianos tis Sarakēnos gynaika eichen aichmalōton ek tōn anō Thēbōn; di᾿ hēn tēn Aigypton oikēsas, kai tēn Aigyptiōn paideian mathōn, tēn Empedokleous kai Pythagorou doxan eis ton Christianismon parēgage. Dyo physeis eipōn, agathēn te kai ponēran, hōs kai Empedoklēs, nei(kos onomazōn tēn ponēran, philian de tēn agathēn. Toutou de tou Skythianou mathētēs ginetai Bouddas, proteron Terebinthos kaloumenos. Hostis epi tēn Babylōnian chōran hormēsas, hētis hypo Persōn oikeitai, polla peri heautou eterateueto, phaskōn ek parthenou gegenēsthai, kai en oresin anatetraphthai. Eita syngraphei biblia tessara, hen men eponomasas tōn Mystēriōn; heteron de, to Euangelion; kai ton Thēsauron triton, kai ta Kephalaia tetarton. Teletas de tinas poiein schēmatizomenos, ediskeuthē hypo pneumatos, kai houtōs apōleto. Gynē de tis par' hę̄ katelyen, ethapsen auton; kai ta ekeinou chrēmata kataschousa, paidarion ōnēsato, peri hepta etē tēn hēlikian, onomati Koubrikon; touton eleutherōsasa, kai grammata ekdidaxasa, meta chronon eteleutēse, panta autǭ ta chrēmata tou Terebinthou kataleipsata, kai ta biblia haper ēn syntaxas ekeinos, hypo Skythianǭ paideuomenos. Tauta labōn ho apeleutheros Koubrikos, kai epi ta Persōn merē chōrēsas, metonomazei men heauton Manēn; ta de tou Boudda ētoi Terebinthou biblia, hōs oikeia, tois hyp᾿ autou planētheisin exedōken. Hai tōn biblōn toinyn hypotheseis, christianizousi men tę̄ phōnę̄, tois de dogmasin hellēnizousi; kai gar pollous Theous sebein ho Manichaios protrepetai atheos ōn, kai ton hēlion proskynein didaskei; kai eimarmenēn eisagei, kai to eph᾽ hēmin anairei; kai metensōmatōsin dogmatizei phanerōs, Empedokleous kai Pythagorou kai Aigyptiōn tais doxais akolouthēsas ; kai ton Christon en sarki gegonenai ou bouletai, phantasma auton legōn einai. kai nomon kai prophētas athetei; kai heauton onomazei Paraklēton; haper panta, allotria tēs orthodoxou Ekklēsias, kathestēken. En de tais epistolais, kai apostolon heauton onomazein etolmēsen. ᾿Alla tou tēlikoutou pseudous axian eureto dikēn dia toiande aitian; Tou basileōs Persōn huios nosǭ peripeptōkei; ho de patēr, to dē legomenon, panta lithon epinei, ton huion sōthēnai boulomenos; mathōn te peri tou Manichaiou, kai tas terateias autou nomisas einai alētheis, hōs apostolon metapempetai, pisteusas di᾿ autou sōthēsesthai ton huion. Ho de, paragenomenos meta tou epiplastou schēmatos encheirizetai s ton tou basileōs huion. Ho de basileus heōrakōs hoti ho pais en tais chersin autou etethnēkei, synkleisas auton, timōreisthai hetoimos ēn. Ho de diadras epi tēn Mesopotamian a, diasōzetai. Mathōn te auton ho tōn Persōn basileus ekei diatribein, anarpaston poiēsas, zōnta exedeiren; kai achyrōn tēn doran plērōsas, pro tēs pylēs tēs poleōs prouthēke. Tauta de hēmeis, ou plasantes legomen, alla dia logou ᾿Archelaou tou episkopou Kascharōn, mias tōn en Mesopotamią poleōn, entychontes synēgagomen. Autos gar Archelaos dialechthēnai autǭ phēsi kata prosōpon, kai ta progegrammena eis ton bion autou ektithetai. Tois oun agathois enakmazousin ho phthonos, katha ephēn, ephedreuein philei. Tis de hē aitia, di᾽ ēn ho agathos Theos touto ginesthai synchōrei, poteron gymnasai ta agatha tōn dogmatōn boulomenos tēs Ekklēsias, kai tēn epi tę̄ pistei prosginomenēn alazoneian ekkoptein; ē hopōs pote echoi, dyscherēs men kai makra hē apodosis; ouk eukairōs de nyn exetazetai ; oute gar dogmata prokeitai gymnazein hēmin, oute tous peri Pronoias kai kriseōs tou Theou dyseuretous logous kinein, all' historian gegonotōn peri tas Ekklēsias pragmatōn hōs hoion te diēgēsasthai. "Hopōs men oun mikron emprosthen tōn Kōnstantinou chronōn hē Manichaiōn parephyei thrēskeia, eirētai; epanelthōmen de epi tous chronous tēs prokeimenēs historias.
But among the good wheat tares usually spring up too; for envy likes to lie in wait for good things. A little before the times of Constantine, a paganizing Christianity sprang up alongside true Christianity, just as false prophets sprang up alongside the prophets and false apostles alongside the apostles. For at that time the doctrine of Empedocles, the pagan philosopher, put on the mask of Christianity through Manichaeus. Eusebius, son of Pamphilus, mentioned him in the seventh book of his Church History, but did not describe him exactly. I therefore think it necessary to supply what he left out; for it will be known who Manichaeus was and where he came from, that he dared such things.
A certain Scythianus, a Saracen, had a captive wife from the Upper Thebaid. On her account he lived in Egypt, and having learned the learning of the Egyptians, he brought the opinion of Empedocles and Pythagoras into Christianity. He spoke of two natures, a good and an evil, as Empedocles did, calling the evil one Strife and the good one Love. A disciple of this Scythianus was Buddas, who had formerly been called Terebinthus. He went to the country of Babylonia, which is inhabited by the Persians, and told many marvels about himself, claiming that he had been born of a virgin and brought up in the mountains. Then he wrote four books, naming one The Mysteries, another The Gospel, the third The Treasure, and the fourth The Chapters. Pretending to perform certain rites, he was hurled down by a spirit and so perished. A woman with whom he lodged buried him, and taking possession of his money, she bought a boy about seven years old named Cubricus. She freed him and taught him letters, and some time later she died, leaving him all Terebinthus’s money and the books which Terebinthus had composed when he was taught by Scythianus. The freedman Cubricus took these and went to the regions of the Persians, where he changed his name to Mani, and published the books of Buddas, or Terebinthus, as his own to those he led astray. The contents of the books are Christian in their wording but pagan in their doctrines. For Manichaeus, being godless, urges the worship of many gods and teaches the worship of the sun. He introduces fate and abolishes free will. He openly teaches transmigration of souls, following the opinions of Empedocles, Pythagoras, and the Egyptians. He will not have it that Christ came in the flesh, saying that he was a phantom. He rejects the law and the prophets, and calls himself the Paraclete. All these things are foreign to the orthodox church. In his letters he even dared to call himself an apostle.
But he found a punishment worthy of so great a lie, for the following reason. The son of the king of the Persians had fallen ill, and the father, as the saying goes, left no stone unturned in his wish that his son be saved. Learning about Manichaeus and thinking his marvels true, he sent for him as an apostle, believing that his son would be saved through him. He came with his pretended appearance and took charge of the king’s son. When the king saw that the boy had died in his hands, he shut him up and was ready to punish him. But he escaped to Mesopotamia and got away safely. When the king of the Persians learned that he was staying there, he had him seized, flayed him alive, filled his skin with chaff, and hung it up before the gate of the city. We do not say these things as our own invention, but have collected them from reading the disputation of Archelaus, bishop of Kaschar, one of the cities of Mesopotamia. For Archelaus himself says that he disputed with him face to face, and he sets out what has been written above about his life.
Envy, then, as I said, likes to lie in wait for good things when they flourish. Why the good God permits this to happen, whether he wishes to exercise the good doctrines of the church and to cut off the arrogance that comes with faith, or whatever the reason may be, is a hard and long account to give, and not suitably examined now. For it is not our purpose to exercise doctrines, nor to raise the hard questions about God’s providence and judgment, but to relate, as far as we can, the history of the things that happened in the churches. How the religion of the Manichaeans sprang up a little before the times of Constantine has been told; let us return to the times of the history before us.
Matt 13:25 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Cor 11:13 (allusion, medium confidence) · 2 Pet 2:1 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Socrates recounts the origins of Manichaeism through Scythianus, Terebinthus, and Cubricus (Mani), its teachings, and Mani’s execution by the Persian king, following the Acts of Archelaus.
- The account of Mani’s origins and death is taken from the Acts of Archelaus (Hegemonius), which Socrates read as Archelaus’s own work; it is translated as given and is legendary in large part.
- Eusebius mentions the Manichaeans at Church History 7.31.
- Wheat and tares: Matt 13:24–30.
Extrabiblical texts: Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 7.31 (Church History; allusion); Empedocles (Empedocles (fragments); allusion); Acta Archel. (Acts of Archelaus; allusion)
Topics: Heresy
Cite (SBL): Socrates, Hist. eccl. 1.22 (PG 67:135–139; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/1-22). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/1-22
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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from Valesius's Greek text as printed in Migne PG 67 (Bavarian State Library OCR and Tesseract re-OCR); every chapter compared afterwards with Zenos's English in NPNF² 2.
1.23PG 67:139–143
Οἱ περὶ Εὐσέβιον καὶ Θέογνιν τῆς ἐξορίας ἐπανελθόντες, τὰς μὲν ἐκκλησίας κατέλαβον, ἐξωθήσαντες, ὡς ἔφην, τοὺς χειροτονηθέντας εἰς τὸν τόπον αὐτῶν. Παρρησίαν τε οὐ τὴν τυχοῦσαν ἐκτήσαντο παρὰ τῷ βασιλεῖ, ὃς πάνυ διὰ τιμῆς ἦγεν αὐτοὺς, ὡς ἀπὸ κακοδοξίας εἰς τὴν ὀρθοδοξίαν ἐπιστρέψαντας. Οἱ δὲ, τῇ δοθείσῃ παῤῥησίᾳ καταχρησάμενοι, μείζονα τῆς προλαβούσης ταραχὴν τῇ οἰκουμένῃ ἐκίνησαν, διχόθεν ὁρμώμενοι, ἔκ τε τῆς προκατασχούσης αὐτοὺς ᾿Αρειανῆς δόξης, καὶ ἐκ τῆς πρὸς ᾿Αθανάσιον · ἀπεχθείας, ἐπειδὴ αὐτοῖς ἐκεῖνος ἐν τῇ συνόδῳ γενναίως περὶ τῶν ζητουμένων δογμάτων ἀντέπεσεν· πρῶτον μὲν τὴν ᾿Αθανασίου χειροτονίαν διέβαλλον, καὶ ὡς ἀναξίου πρὸς τὴν ἐπισκοπὴν, καὶ μὴ ὡς ὑπὸ ἀξιοπίστων γεγενημένου. Ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐκεῖνος κρείττων τῆς διαβολῆς ἐδείκνυτο· ἐγκρατὴς γὰρ τῆς ᾿Αλεξανδρέων Ἐκκλησίας γενόμενος, διαπύρως ὑπὲρ τῆς ἐν Νικαίᾳ πίστεως ἡγωνίζετο· τότε δὴ οἱ περὶ Εὐσέβιον σπουδὴν ἐτίθεντο, ᾿Αθανάσιον μὲν σκευωρήσασθαι, ῎Αρειον δὲ καταγαγεῖν εἰς τὴν ᾿Αλεξάνδρειαν. Οὕτω γὰρ μόνως δυνήσεσθαι τὴν τοῦ ὁμοουσίου πίστιν ἐκβαλεῖν, παρεισάγειν δὲ τὴν ἀρειανίζουσαν. Ἔγραφεν οὖν Εὐσέβιος ᾿Αθανασίῳ, δέχεσθαι Ἄρειον καὶ τοὺς ἀμφ᾿ αὐτόν· καὶ γράφων μὲν παρεκάλει, ἔξωθεν δὲ δι - ηπείλει. Ἐπεὶ δὲ ᾿Αθανάσιος οὐδενὶ τρόπῳ ἐπείθετο, κατασκευάζει πεισθῆναι τὸν βασιλέα, δέξασθαι μὲν εἰς πρόσωπον τὸν Ἄρειον, καὶ κάθοδον αὐτῷ εἰς τὴν ᾿Αλεξάνδρειαν παρασχεῖν. Καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ὅπως ἐξίσχυσε κατεργάσασθαι, κατὰ χώραν ἐρῶ. Πρὸ τούτων δὲ ἐτέρα ταῖς Ἐκκλησίαις ἐπιγίνεται ταραχή. Καὶ γὰρ πάλιν τὴν εἰρήνην οἱ οἰκεῖοι τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ἐτάραττον. Εὐσέβιος μὲν οὖν ὁ Παμφίλου φησὶν, εὐθὺς μετὰ τὴν σύνοδον πρὸς ἑαυτὴν στασιάζειν τὴν Αἴγυπτον, τὴν αἰτίαν μὴ προστιθείς. Ἐξ ὧν καὶ διγλώσσου δόξαν ἐκτήσατο, ὅτι τὰς αἰτίας λέγειν ἐκκλίνων, μὴ συνευδοκεῖν τοῖς ἐν Νικαίᾳ συνέθετο. Ὡς δὲ ἡμεῖς ἐκ διαφόρων ἐπιστολῶν εὑρήκαμεν, ἃς μετὰ τὴν σύνοδον οἱ ἐπίσκοποι πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἔγραφον, ἡ τοῦ όμοουσίου λέξις τινὰς διετάραττε. Περὶ ἣν κατατριβόμενοι, καὶ ἀκριβολογούμενοι, τὸν κατὰ ἀλλήλων πό λεμον ἦγειραν. Νυκτομαχίας τε οὐδὲν ἀπεῖχε τὰ γινόμενα · οὐδὲ γὰρ ἀλλήλους ἐφαίνοντο νοοῦντες, ἀφ᾿ ὧν ἀλλήλους βλασφημεῖν ὑπελάμβανον. Οἱ μὲν γὰρ τοῦ ὁμοουσίου τὴν λέξιν ἐκκλίνοντες, τὴν Σαβελλίου καὶ Μοντανοῦ δόξαν εἰσηνεῖσθαι αὐτὴν τοὺς προσδεχομένους ἐνόμιζον. Καὶ δια τοῦτο βλασφήμους ἐκάλουν, ὡς ἀναιροῦντας τὴν ὕπαρξιν τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ · οἱ δὲ πάλιν τῷ ὁμοουσίῳ προσκείμενοι, πολυθεῖαν εἰσάγειν τοὺς ἑτέρους νομίζοντες, ὡς ἑλληνισμὸν εἰσάγοντας ἐξετρέποντο. Καὶ Εὐστάθιος μὲν ὁ ᾿Αντιοχείας ἐπίσκοπος, διασύρει τὸν Παμφίλου Εὐσέβιον, ὡς τὴν ἐν Νικαίᾳ πίστιν παραχαράττοντα. Εὐσέβιος δὲ, τὴν μὲν ἐν Νικαίᾳ πίστιν οὗ φησι παραβαίνειν· διαβάλλει δὲ Εὐστάθιον, ὡς τὴν Σαβελλίου δόξαν εἰσἁγοντα. Διαταῦτα ἕκαστοι, ὡς κατὰ ἀντιπάλων τοὺς λόγους συνέγραφον. Αμφότεροί τε λέγοντες ἐνυπόστατόν τε καὶ ἐνυπάρχοντα τὸν Υἱὸν εἶναι τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἕνα τε Θεὸν ἐν τρισὶν ὑποστάσεσιν εἶναι ὁμολογοῦντες, ἀλλήλοις οὐκ οἶδ᾽ ὅπως συμφωνῆσαι οὐκ ἴσχυον 4. καὶ διαταῦτα ἡσυχάζειν οὐδενὶ τρόπῳ ἡνείχοντο.
Hoi peri Eusebion kai Theognin tēs exorias epanelthontes, tas men ekklēsias katelabon, exōthēsantes, hōs ephēn, tous cheirotonēthentas eis ton topon autōn. Parrēsian te ou tēn tychousan ektēsanto para tǭ basilei, hos pany dia timēs ēgen autous, hōs apo kakodoxias eis tēn orthodoxian epistrepsantas. Hoi de, tę̄ dotheisę̄ parrhēsią katachrēsamenoi, meizona tēs prolabousēs tarachēn tę̄ oikoumenę̄ ekinēsan, dichothen hormōmenoi, ek te tēs prokataschousēs autous ᾿Areianēs doxēs, kai ek tēs pros ᾿Athanasion ; apechtheias, epeidē autois ekeinos en tę̄ synodǭ gennaiōs peri tōn zētoumenōn dogmatōn antepesen; prōton men tēn ᾿Athanasiou cheirotonian dieballon, kai hōs anaxiou pros tēn episkopēn, kai mē hōs hypo axiopistōn gegenēmenou. Epei de ekeinos kreittōn tēs diabolēs edeiknyto; enkratēs gar tēs ᾿Alexandreōn Ekklēsias genomenos, diapyrōs hyper tēs en Nikaią pisteōs hēgōnizeto; tote dē hoi peri Eusebion spoudēn etithento, ᾿Athanasion men skeuōrēsasthai, ᾿Areion de katagagein eis tēn ᾿Alexandreian. Houtō gar monōs dynēsesthai tēn tou homoousiou pistin ekbalein, pareisagein de tēn areianizousan. Egraphen oun Eusebios ᾿Athanasiǭ, dechesthai Areion kai tous amph᾿ auton; kai graphōn men parekalei, exōthen de di - ēpeilei. Epei de ᾿Athanasios oudeni tropǭ epeitheto, kataskeuazei peisthēnai ton basilea, dexasthai men eis prosōpon ton Areion, kai kathodon autǭ eis tēn ᾿Alexandreian paraschein. Kai tauta men hopōs exischyse katergasasthai, kata chōran erō. Pro toutōn de etera tais Ekklēsiais epiginetai tarachē. Kai gar palin tēn eirēnēn hoi oikeioi tēs Ekklēsias etaratton. Eusebios men oun ho Pamphilou phēsin, euthys meta tēn synodon pros heautēn stasiazein tēn Aigypton, tēn aitian mē prostitheis. Ex hōn kai diglōssou doxan ektēsato, hoti tas aitias legein ekklinōn, mē syneudokein tois en Nikaią synetheto. Hōs de hēmeis ek diaphorōn epistolōn heurēkamen, has meta tēn synodon hoi episkopoi pros allēlous egraphon, hē tou omoousiou lexis tinas dietaratte. Peri hēn katatribomenoi, kai akribologoumenoi, ton kata allēlōn po lemon ēgeiran. Nyktomachias te ouden apeiche ta ginomena ; oude gar allēlous ephainonto noountes, aph᾿ hōn allēlous blasphēmein hypelambanon. Hoi men gar tou homoousiou tēn lexin ekklinontes, tēn Sabelliou kai Montanou doxan eisēneisthai autēn tous prosdechomenous enomizon. Kai dia touto blasphēmous ekaloun, hōs anairountas tēn hyparxin tou Huiou tou Theou ; hoi de palin tǭ homoousiǭ proskeimenoi, polytheian eisagein tous heterous nomizontes, hōs hellēnismon eisagontas exetreponto. Kai Eustathios men ho ᾿Antiocheias episkopos, diasyrei ton Pamphilou Eusebion, hōs tēn en Nikaią pistin paracharattonta. Eusebios de, tēn men en Nikaią pistin hou phēsi parabainein; diaballei de Eustathion, hōs tēn Sabelliou doxan eisagonta. Diatauta hekastoi, hōs kata antipalōn tous logous synegraphon. Amphoteroi te legontes enypostaton te kai enyparchonta ton Huion einai tou Theou, hena te Theon en trisin hypostasesin einai homologountes, allēlois ouk oid᾽ hopōs symphōnēsai ouk ischyon 4. kai diatauta hēsychazein oudeni tropǭ hēneichonto.
Eusebius and Theognis, on their return from exile, took possession of their churches, driving out, as I said, those who had been ordained in their place. They gained no small freedom of speech with the emperor, who held them in great honour as men who had turned from wrong belief to orthodoxy. But they abused the freedom given them and stirred up in the world a greater disturbance than the earlier one. They were driven from two directions: by the Arian opinion that already possessed them, and by their hatred of Athanasius, because he had opposed them nobly at the synod about the doctrines in question. First they found fault with Athanasius’s ordination, as of one unworthy of the episcopate and not ordained by trustworthy men. But when he proved superior to the slander (for having become master of the church of the Alexandrians, he contended ardently for the faith of Nicaea), then Eusebius and his party set themselves to plot against Athanasius and to bring Arius back to Alexandria; for only so, they thought, could they cast out the faith of the homoousios and bring in the Arian one. Eusebius therefore wrote to Athanasius to receive Arius and his followers; in writing he entreated, but openly he threatened. When Athanasius would in no way be persuaded, he contrived that the emperor should be persuaded to receive Arius into his presence and grant him a return to Alexandria. How he managed to bring this about I will tell in its place.
Before this, another disturbance came upon the churches; for again members of the church’s own household troubled its peace. Eusebius, son of Pamphilus, says that immediately after the synod Egypt was at strife with itself, but he does not add the reason. From this he gained the reputation of being double-tongued, since by avoiding stating the reasons he seemed not to approve of what was done at Nicaea. But as we have found from various letters which the bishops wrote to one another after the synod, the word homoousios troubled some. Wearing themselves out over it and splitting hairs, they stirred up war against one another, and what happened was no different from a battle by night: for they did not seem to understand one another, though each supposed the other was blaspheming. Those who avoided the word homoousios thought that those who accepted it were bringing in the opinion of Sabellius and Montanus, and so they called them blasphemers, as doing away with the existence of the Son of God. Those, on the other hand, who held to the homoousios, thinking the others were bringing in polytheism, turned away from them as introducing paganism. Eustathius, bishop of Antioch, disparages Eusebius, son of Pamphilus, as falsifying the faith of Nicaea; Eusebius says that he does not transgress the faith of Nicaea, but accuses Eustathius of introducing the opinion of Sabellius. For this reason each wrote treatises as against opponents. Both said that the Son of God has a real subsistence and existence, and both confessed that there is one God in three hypostases; yet somehow they could not agree with one another, and for this reason they could by no means keep quiet.
Notes and citation
Summary: Eusebius of Nicomedia and Theognis, restored, work against Athanasius and for Arius’s return; meanwhile bishops quarrel over homoousios, Eustathius of Antioch and Eusebius of Caesarea accusing each other.
- homoousios: “of the same essence”; see the note at 1.8.
- Eusebius’s remark is in Life of Constantine 3.23.
Extrabiblical texts: Eusebius, Vit. Const. 3.23 (Life of Constantine; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Socrates, Hist. eccl. 1.23 (PG 67:139–143; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/1-23). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/1-23
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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from Valesius's Greek text as printed in Migne PG 67 (Bavarian State Library OCR and Tesseract re-OCR); every chapter compared afterwards with Zenos's English in NPNF² 2.
1.24PG 67:143–145
Σύνοδον οὖν ἐν Ἀντιοχείᾳ ποιησαντες, καθαιροῦσιν Εὐστάθιον, ὡς τὰ Σαβελλίου μᾶλλον φρονοῦντα, ἢ ἅπερ ἡ ἐν Νικαίᾳ σύνοδος ἐδογμάτισεν. Ὡς μὲν οὖν τινές φασιν, δι᾽ ἄλλας οὐκ ἀγαθὰς αἰτίας· φανερῶς γὰρ οὐκ εἰρήκασι. Τοῦτο δὲ ἐπὶ πάντων εἰώθασι τῶν καθαιρουμένων ποιεῖν οἱ ἐπίσκοποι, κατηγοροῦντες μὲν καὶ ἀσεβεῖν λέγοντες, τὰς δὲ αἰτίας τῆς ἀσεβείας οὐ προστιθέντες. Ὅτι μέντοι ὡς σαβελλίζοντα καθεἴλον Εὐστάθιον, Κύρου τοῦ Βεῤῥοίας ἐπισκόπου κατηγοροῦντος αὐτοῦ, Γεώργιος ὁ Λαοδικείας τῆς ἐν Συρίᾳ ἐπίσκοπος, εἷς ὢν τῶν μισούντων τὸ ὁμοούσιον, ἐν τῷ ἐγκωμίῳ τῷ εἰς Εὐσέβιον τὸν Ἐμισηνὸν ἔγραψεν εἰρηκέναι. Καὶ περὶ μὲν τοῦ Ἑμισηνοῦ Εὐσεβίου κατὰ χώραν ἐροῦμεν. Γεώργιος δὲ περὶ Εὐσταθίου γράφει· φάσκων γὰρ Εὐστάθιον ὑπὸ τοῦ Κύρου κατηγορεῖσθαι ὡς σαβελλίζοντα, αὖθις τὸν Κῦρον ἐπὶ τοῖς αὐτοῖς ἁλόντα καθῃρῆσθαί φησι· καὶ πῶς οἷόν τε, Κῦρον τὰ Σαβελλίου φρονοῦντα κατηγορεῖν Εὐσταθίου, ὡς Σαβελλίζοντος; Ἕοικεν οὖν Εὐστάθιον, δι᾽ ἑτέρας καθῃρῆσθαι προφάσεις. Τότε δὲ ἐν τῇ ᾿Αντιοχείᾳ δεινὴ στάσις ἐπὶ τῇ αὐτοῦ καθαιρέσει γεγένηται. Καὶ μεταταῦτα πολλάκις περὶ ἐπιλογῆς ἐπισκόπου τοσοῦτος ἐξήφθη πυρσὸς, ὡς μικροῦ δεῆσαι τὴν πᾶσαν ἀνατραπῆναι πόλιν, εἰς δύο τμήματα διαιρεθέντος τοῦ λαοῦ· τῶν μὲν Εὐσέβιον τὸν Παμφίλου, ἐκ τῆς ἐν Παλαιστίνῃ Καισαρείας μεταφέρειν φιλονεικούντων ἐπὶ τὴν ᾿Αντιόχειαν· τῶν δὲ, σπευδόντων ἐπαγαγεῖν Εὐστάθιον. Συνελαμβάνετο δὲ ἑκατέρῳ μέρει καὶ τὸ κοινὸν τῆς πόλεως. Καὶ στρατιωτικὴ χεὶρ, ὡς κατὰ πολεμίων κεκίνητο, ὡς καὶ ξιφῶν μέλλειν ἅπτεσθαι, εἰ μὴ ὁ θεός τε καὶ ὁ παρὰ τοῦ βασιλέως φόβος, τὰς ὁρμὰς τοῦ πλήθους ἀνέστειλεν. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ βασιλεὺς δι᾿ ἐπιστολῶν τὰ γεγενημένα καὶ τὰς στάσεις κατέπαυσεν· Εὐσέβιος δὲ παραιτησάμενος. Ἐφ᾽ ᾧ καὶ θαυμάσας αὐτὸν ὁ βασιλεὺς, γράφει τε αὐτῷ καὶ τὴν πρόθεσιν αὐτοῦ ἐπαινέσας, μακάριον ἀποκαλεῖ, ὅτι οὐ μιᾶς πόλεως, ἀλλὰ πάσης σχεδὸν τῆς οἰκουμένης ἐπίσκοπος ἄξιος εἶναι ἐκρίθη. Ἐφεξῆς οὖν ἐπὶ ἔτη ὀκτὼ λέγεται τὸν ἐν ᾿Αντιοχείᾳ θρόνον τῆς Ἐκκλησίας σχολάσαι. Οψὲ δέ ποτε σπουδῇ τῶν τὴν ἐν Νικαίᾳ πίστιν παρατρέπειν δαζόντων, χειροτονεῖται Εὐφρόνιος. Τοσαῦτα μὲν περὶ τῆς συνόδου ἡ κατὰ τὴν ᾿Αντιόχειαν δε ΕὐστάΟιον γέγονεν, Ιστορείσθω. Μεταταῦτα δὲ εὐθὺς καὶ ὁ τὴν Βηρυτὸν μὲν πάλαι καταλιπών Εὐσέβιος, τότε δὲ τῆς ἐν Νικομηδείᾳ κρατῶν. Ἐκκλησίας, σπουδὴν ἔθετο σὺν τοῖς ἀμφ᾿ αὐτὸν, "Αρειον καταγαγεῖν εἰς τὴν ᾿Αλεξάνδρειαν. Πῶς δὲ ἐξίσχυσαν τοῦτο κατεργάσασθαι, καὶ πῶς ἐπείσθη ὁ βασιλεὺς εἰς πρόσωπον δέξασθαι "Αρειον καὶ τὸν σὺν αὐτῷ Εὐζώτον, ἤδη λεκτέον.
Synodon oun en Antiocheią poiēsantes, kathairousin Eustathion, hōs ta Sabelliou mallon phronounta, ē haper hē en Nikaią synodos edogmatisen. Hōs men oun tines phasin, di᾽ allas ouk agathas aitias; phanerōs gar ouk eirēkasi. Touto de epi pantōn eiōthasi tōn kathairoumenōn poiein hoi episkopoi, katēgorountes men kai asebein legontes, tas de aitias tēs asebeias ou prostithentes. Hoti mentoi hōs sabellizonta katheilon Eustathion, Kyrou tou Berrhoias episkopou katēgorountos autou, Geōrgios ho Laodikeias tēs en Syrią episkopos, heis ōn tōn misountōn to homoousion, en tǭ enkōmiǭ tǭ eis Eusebion ton Emisēnon egrapsen eirēkenai. Kai peri men tou Hemisēnou Eusebiou kata chōran eroumen. Geōrgios de peri Eustathiou graphei; phaskōn gar Eustathion hypo tou Kyrou katēgoreisthai hōs sabellizonta, authis ton Kyron epi tois autois halonta kathę̄rēsthai phēsi; kai pōs hoion te, Kyron ta Sabelliou phronounta katēgorein Eustathiou, hōs Sabellizontos? Heoiken oun Eustathion, di᾽ heteras kathę̄rēsthai prophaseis. Tote de en tę̄ ᾿Antiocheią deinē stasis epi tę̄ autou kathairesei gegenētai. Kai metatauta pollakis peri epilogēs episkopou tosoutos exēphthē pyrsos, hōs mikrou deēsai tēn pasan anatrapēnai polin, eis dyo tmēmata diairethentos tou laou; tōn men Eusebion ton Pamphilou, ek tēs en Palaistinę̄ Kaisareias metapherein philoneikountōn epi tēn ᾿Antiocheian; tōn de, speudontōn epagagein Eustathion. Synelambaneto de hekaterǭ merei kai to koinon tēs poleōs. Kai stratiōtikē cheir, hōs kata polemiōn kekinēto, hōs kai xiphōn mellein haptesthai, ei mē ho theos te kai ho para tou basileōs phobos, tas hormas tou plēthous anesteilen. Ho men gar basileus di᾿ epistolōn ta gegenēmena kai tas staseis katepausen; Eusebios de paraitēsamenos. Eph᾽ hǭ kai thaumasas auton ho basileus, graphei te autǭ kai tēn prothesin autou epainesas, makarion apokalei, hoti ou mias poleōs, alla pasēs schedon tēs oikoumenēs episkopos axios einai ekrithē. Ephexēs oun epi etē oktō legetai ton en ᾿Antiocheią thronon tēs Ekklēsias scholasai. Opse de pote spoudę̄ tōn tēn en Nikaią pistin paratrepein dazontōn, cheirotoneitai Euphronios. Tosauta men peri tēs synodou hē kata tēn ᾿Antiocheian de EustaOion gegonen, Istoreisthō. Metatauta de euthys kai ho tēn Bēryton men palai katalipōn Eusebios, tote de tēs en Nikomēdeią kratōn. Ekklēsias, spoudēn etheto syn tois amph᾿ auton, "Areion katagagein eis tēn ᾿Alexandreian. Pōs de exischysan touto katergasasthai, kai pōs epeisthē ho basileus eis prosōpon dexasthai "Areion kai ton syn autǭ Euzōton, ēdē lekteon.
So they held a synod at Antioch and deposed Eustathius as holding the views of Sabellius rather than what the synod of Nicaea had decreed. Some say it was for other, discreditable reasons, which they did not state openly. The bishops are accustomed to do this with all whom they depose: they accuse them and say they are impious, but do not add the grounds of the impiety. That they deposed Eustathius as a Sabellian, on the accusation of Cyrus, bishop of Beroea, is stated by George, bishop of Laodicea in Syria, one of those who hated the homoousios, in his encomium of Eusebius of Emesa. Of Eusebius of Emesa we shall speak in its place. George writes about Eustathius that he was accused by Cyrus as a Sabellian, and then says that Cyrus himself was later convicted on the same charges and deposed. How is it possible that Cyrus, holding the views of Sabellius, should accuse Eustathius of being a Sabellian? It seems, then, that Eustathius was deposed on other pretexts. At that time a terrible sedition broke out in Antioch over his deposition, and afterwards, again and again over the election of a bishop, such a fire was kindled that the whole city was almost overturned, the people being divided into two parties: some were eager to transfer Eusebius, son of Pamphilus, from Caesarea in Palestine to Antioch, others to bring back Eustathius. The whole body of the city took part with one side or the other, and troops were set in motion as against enemies, so that swords were about to be drawn, had not God and the fear of the emperor checked the rush of the crowd. The emperor quieted what had happened and the seditions by letters, and Eusebius declined the see. The emperor admired him for this, wrote to him praising his purpose, and called him blessed, because he had been judged worthy to be bishop not of one city but of almost the whole world. After this the throne of the church at Antioch is said to have been vacant for eight years. At last, through the efforts of those who were eager to pervert the faith of Nicaea, Euphronius was ordained. Let this much be recorded about the synod held at Antioch against Eustathius.
Immediately after this, Eusebius, who had long before left Berytus and then held the church of Nicomedia, set himself with his party to bring Arius back to Alexandria. How they managed to accomplish this, and how the emperor was persuaded to receive Arius and Euzoius with him into his presence, must now be told.
Notes and citation
Summary: A synod at Antioch deposes Eustathius, probably on other pretexts than Sabellianism; rioting follows, Eusebius of Caesarea declines the see, and Eusebius of Nicomedia works for Arius’s return.
- George of Laodicea’s encomium of Eusebius of Emesa is lost.
- The scan reads “ἀθεός” (godless) for “ὁ θεός” (God); the sense “had not God and the fear of the emperor” is plain and is translated.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR joined the article to the noun): εἰ μὴ ἀθεός τε → εἰ μὴ ὁ θεός τε.
Topics: Heresy, Church office
Cite (SBL): Socrates, Hist. eccl. 1.24 (PG 67:143–145; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/1-24). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/1-24
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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from Valesius's Greek text as printed in Migne PG 67 (Bavarian State Library OCR and Tesseract re-OCR); every chapter compared afterwards with Zenos's English in NPNF² 2.
1.25PG 67:147–149
Ἦν ἀδελφὴ τῷ βασιλεῖ Κωνσταντίνῳ, τοὔνομα Κωνσταντία. Γυνὴ δὲ ἐγεγόνει Λικιννίου, τοῦ πρότε ρον μὲν συμβασιλεύσαντος αὐτῷ Κωνσταντίνῳ, μεταταῦτα δὲ τυραννήσαντος, καὶ διατοῦτο ἀναιρεθέντος. Ταύτῃ πρεσβύτερός τις τῷ ᾿Αρειανῶν προσκείμενος δόγματι, γνώριμος ἦν, καὶ ἐν τοῖς οἰκείοις ἐτάττετο. Ὑποβαλόντος οὖν Εὐσεβίου καὶ τῶν σὺν αὐτῷ, λόγους περὶ ᾿Αρείου πρὸς τὴν γυναῖκα παρέσπειρεν, ἠδικῆσθαι φάσκων αὐτὸν ὑπὸ τῆς συνόδου, καὶ μὴ φρονεῖν ὡς περὶ αὐτοῦ λόγος κατέχει. Ταῦτα ἀκούσασα ἡ Κωνσταντία, τῷ μὲν πρεσβυτέρῳ ἐπίστευσε · τῷ δὲ βασιλεῖ λέγειν οὐκ ἐτόλμα. Συμβαίνει δὲ χαλεπῇ νόσῳ - περιπεσεῖν τὴν Κωνσταντίαν. Ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς συνεχῶς ἀῤῥωστοῦσαν αὐτὴν ἐπεσκέπτετο. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἡ γυνὴ ἐκ τῆς νόσου χαλεπώτερον διετέθη, θνήσκειν δὲ προσεδόκα, παρακατατίθεται τῷ βασιλεῖ τὸν πρεσβύτερον, μαρτυροῦσα αὐτῷ σπουδὴν καὶ εὐλάβειαν, καὶ ὡς εὔνους εἴη περὶ τὴν βασιλείαν αὐτοῦ. Ἡ μὲν οὖν μετ' οὐ πολὺ τεθνήκει. Ὁ δὲ πρεσβύτερος ἐν τοῖς οἰκειοτάτοις τοῦ βασιλέως ἐτάττετο. Καὶ δὴ καταβραχὺ τὴν παῤῥησίαν αὐξήσας, τοὺς αὐτοὺς ἀναφέρει λόγους περὶ τοῦ ᾿Αρείου τῷ βασιλεῖ, οἷς πρὸς τὴν ἀδελφὴν ἐχρήσατο πρότερον· φάσκων μὴ ἄλλως φρονεῖν ῎Ἄρειον, ἢ ὁ τῇ συνόδῳ δοκεῖ, ἐλθόντα τε αὐτὸν κατὰ πρόσωπον, συντίθεσθαι τούτοις, καὶ μὴ ἀλόγως συκοφαντεῖσθαι τούτοις. Ξένα καταφαίνεται τῷ βασιλεῖ τὰ παρὰ τοῦ πρεσβυτέρου λεγόμενα· καὶ Εἰ – Ἄρειος, ἔφη, συντίθεται τῇ συνόδῳ, καὶ εἰ τὰ ἐν ἐκείνης φρονεῖ, δέξομαί τε αὐτὸν εἰς πρόσωπον, καὶ σὺν τιμῇ ἐκπέμψω ἐπὶ τὴν ᾿Αλεξάνδρειαν. Ταῦτα ἔλεγε, καὶ αὐτίκα πρὸς αὐτὸν ἔγραφε τάδε · Νικητὴς Κωνσταντῖνος, Μέγιστος, Σεβαστός, ᾿Αρείῳ. Πάλαι μὲν ἐδηλώθη τῇ στεῤῥότητί σου, ὅπως ἂν εἰς τὸ ἐμὸν στρατόπεδον ἀφίκοιο, ἵνα τῆς ἡμετέρας θέας ἀπολαῦσαι δυνηθείης. Θαυμάζομεν δὲ σφόδρα, μὴ παραχρῆμα τοῦτο πεποιηκότα. Διόπερ νῦν ἐπιβὰς ὀχήματος δημοσίου, εἰς τὸ ἡμέτερον στρατόπεδον ἀφικέσθαι ἐπείχθητι· ὅπως ἂν τῆς παρ᾿ ἡμῶν εὐμενείας τε καὶ ἐπιμελείας τυχὼν, ἐπὶ τὴν πατρίδα ἀφ· ικέσθαι δυνηθῇς. Ὁ Θεός σε διαφυλάττοι, ἀγαπητέ. Εδόθη τῇ πρὸ πέντε καλανδῶν Δεκεμβρίων. αὕτη μὲν ἡ πρὸς ῎Αρειον τοῦ βασιλέως ἐπιστολή. Θαυμάσαι δὲ μοι ἔπεισι τὴν σπουδὴν καὶ τὸν ζῆλον, ὃν εἶχεν ὁ βασιλεὺς περὶ τὴν θεοσέβειαν. Φαίνεται γὰρ διὰ τῆς ἐπιστολῆς, ὡς πλειστάκις αὐτὸν ἐπὶ μετάνοιαν προτρεψάμενος, ἀφ᾽ ὧν μέμφεται ὅτι πολλάκις αὐτοῦ γράψαντος, μὴ ταχέως ῎Ἄρειος ἐπανῆλθεν εἰς τὴν ἀλήθειαν. ῎Αρειος μὲν οὖν δεξάμενος τοῦ βασιλέως τὰ γράμματα, μετ᾿ οὐ πολὺ παρῆν ἐπὶ τὴν Κωνσταντίνου πόλιν. Συμπαρῆν δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ Εὐζώτος, ἂν καθεῖλεν ᾿Αλέξανδρος ὄντα διάκονον, ὅτε καθήρει τοὺς περὶ ῎Αρειον. Δέχεται οὖν αὐτοὺς ὁ βασιλεὺς εἰς πρόσωπον, καὶ διεπυνθάνετο εἰ τῇ πίστει συντίθενται. Τῶν δὲ συνθεμένων ἑτοίμως, ὁ βασιλεὺς ἔγγραφον αὐτοὺς ἐπιδιδόναι τὴν πίστιν ἐκέλευσεν.
Ēn adelphē tǭ basilei Kōnstantinǭ, tounoma Kōnstantia. Gynē de egegonei Likinniou, tou prote ron men symbasileusantos autǭ Kōnstantinǭ, metatauta de tyrannēsantos, kai diatouto anairethentos. Tautę̄ presbyteros tis tǭ ᾿Areianōn proskeimenos dogmati, gnōrimos ēn, kai en tois oikeiois etatteto. Hypobalontos oun Eusebiou kai tōn syn autǭ, logous peri ᾿Areiou pros tēn gynaika parespeiren, ēdikēsthai phaskōn auton hypo tēs synodou, kai mē phronein hōs peri autou logos katechei. Tauta akousasa hē Kōnstantia, tǭ men presbyterǭ episteuse ; tǭ de basilei legein ouk etolma. Symbainei de chalepę̄ nosǭ - peripesein tēn Kōnstantian. Ho de basileus synechōs arrhōstousan autēn epeskepteto. Epeidē de hē gynē ek tēs nosou chalepōteron dietethē, thnēskein de prosedoka, parakatatithetai tǭ basilei ton presbyteron, martyrousa autǭ spoudēn kai eulabeian, kai hōs eunous eiē peri tēn basileian autou. Hē men oun met' ou poly tethnēkei. Ho de presbyteros en tois oikeiotatois tou basileōs etatteto. Kai dē katabrachy tēn parrhēsian auxēsas, tous autous anapherei logous peri tou ᾿Areiou tǭ basilei, hois pros tēn adelphēn echrēsato proteron; phaskōn mē allōs phronein ᾿Areion, ē ho tę̄ synodǭ dokei, elthonta te auton kata prosōpon, syntithesthai toutois, kai mē alogōs sykophanteisthai toutois. Xena kataphainetai tǭ basilei ta para tou presbyterou legomena; kai Ei – Areios, ephē, syntithetai tę̄ synodǭ, kai ei ta en ekeinēs phronei, dexomai te auton eis prosōpon, kai syn timę̄ ekpempsō epi tēn ᾿Alexandreian. Tauta elege, kai autika pros auton egraphe tade ; Nikētēs Kōnstantinos, Megistos, Sebastos, ᾿Areiǭ. Palai men edēlōthē tę̄ sterrhotēti sou, hopōs an eis to emon stratopedon aphikoio, hina tēs hēmeteras theas apolausai dynētheiēs. Thaumazomen de sphodra, mē parachrēma touto pepoiēkota. Dioper nyn epibas ochēmatos dēmosiou, eis to hēmeteron stratopedon aphikesthai epeichthēti; hopōs an tēs par᾿ hēmōn eumeneias te kai epimeleias tychōn, epi tēn patrida aph; ikesthai dynēthę̄s. Ho Theos se diaphylattoi, agapēte. Edothē tę̄ pro pente kalandōn Dekembriōn. hautē men hē pros ᾿Areion tou basileōs epistolē. Thaumasai de moi epeisi tēn spoudēn kai ton zēlon, hon eichen ho basileus peri tēn theosebeian. Phainetai gar dia tēs epistolēs, hōs pleistakis auton epi metanoian protrepsamenos, aph᾽ hōn memphetai hoti pollakis autou grapsantos, mē tacheōs ᾿Areios epanēlthen eis tēn alētheian. ᾿Areios men oun dexamenos tou basileōs ta grammata, met᾿ ou poly parēn epi tēn Kōnstantinou polin. Symparēn de autǭ kai Euzōtos, an katheilen ᾿Alexandros onta diakonon, hote kathērei tous peri ᾿Areion. Dechetai oun autous ho basileus eis prosōpon, kai diepynthaneto ei tę̄ pistei syntithentai. Tōn de synthemenōn hetoimōs, ho basileus engraphon autous epididonai tēn pistin ekeleusen.
The emperor Constantine had a sister named Constantia. She had been the wife of Licinius, who formerly reigned with Constantine but afterwards became a tyrant and was put to death for it. A certain presbyter devoted to the Arian doctrine was known to her and counted among her household. At the prompting of Eusebius and his party, he dropped words about Arius to the woman, saying that he had been wronged by the synod and did not hold the views that report attributed to him. Constantia, hearing this, believed the presbyter, but did not dare to tell the emperor. It happened that Constantia fell seriously ill, and the emperor visited her often in her sickness. When her illness grew worse and she expected to die, she commended the presbyter to the emperor, bearing witness to his zeal and piety and his loyalty to his rule. She died soon afterwards, and the presbyter was counted among the emperor’s closest household. Gradually increasing his freedom of speech, he brought before the emperor the same words about Arius that he had used before to his sister: that Arius thought no differently from what the synod had decided, and that if he came into his presence he would agree to it, and that he was slandered without reason. What the presbyter said seemed strange to the emperor, and he said: “If Arius agrees with the synod and holds its views, I will both receive him into my presence and send him with honour to Alexandria.” So he said, and at once wrote to him as follows: “Victor Constantine, Maximus, Augustus, to Arius. It was made known to your steadfastness some time ago that you should come to my court, so that you might enjoy the sight of us. We are very much surprised that you have not done so at once. Now, therefore, take a public carriage and hasten to come to our court, so that, having received our goodwill and care, you may be able to return to your homeland. God keep you, beloved. Given on the fifth day before the Kalends of December.” This is the emperor’s letter to Arius. It makes me admire the zeal and earnestness the emperor had for piety; for it appears from the letter that he had very often urged him to repentance, since he blames him that, though he had written often, Arius did not quickly return to the truth. Arius, having received the emperor’s letter, came not long afterwards to Constantinople, and with him also Euzoius, whom Alexander had deposed from the diaconate when he deposed Arius and his party. The emperor received them into his presence and asked whether they agreed to the faith. When they readily agreed, the emperor ordered them to hand in their faith in writing.
Notes and citation
Summary: Through an Arian presbyter commended by Constantia, Constantine is persuaded that Arius agrees with Nicaea and summons him to court; Arius and Euzoius come and are asked to submit their faith in writing.
- The emperor’s letter to Arius is quoted in full. The fifth day before the Kalends of December is 27 November.
Topics: Heresy
Cite (SBL): Socrates, Hist. eccl. 1.25 (PG 67:147–149; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/1-25). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/1-25
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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from Valesius's Greek text as printed in Migne PG 67 (Bavarian State Library OCR and Tesseract re-OCR); every chapter compared afterwards with Zenos's English in NPNF² 2.
1.26PG 67:149–151
Οἱ δὲ βιβλίον συντάξαντες, τῷ βασιλεῖ προσκομί ζουσι, τοῦτον ἔχον τὸν τρόπον· Τῷ εὐλαβεστάτῳ καὶ θεοφιλεστάτῳ δεσπότῃ ἡμῶν βασιλεῖ Κωσταντίνῳ, Ἄρειος καὶ Εὐζώϊος· Καθὼς προσέταξεν ἡ θεοφιλής σου εὐσέβεια, δέσποτα βασιλεῦ, ἐκτιθέμεθα τὴν ἑαυτῶν πίστιν, καὶ ἐγγράφως ὁμολογοῦμεν ἐπὶ Θεοῦ, οὕτως πιστεύειν καὶ αὐτοὶ καὶ οἱ σὺν ἡμῖν, ὡς ὑποτέτακται. Πιστεύομεν εἰς ἕνα Θεὸν, Πατέρα παντοκράτορα· καὶ εἰς Κύριον Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν τὸν Υἱὸν αὐτοῦ, τὸν ἐξ αὐτοῦ πρὸ πάντων τῶν αἰώνων γεγενημένον· Θεὸν Λόγον, δι' οὗ τὰ πάντα ἐγένετο, τάτε ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς, καὶ τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς· τὸν κατελθόντα καὶ σαρκωθέντα, καὶ παθόντα, καὶ ἀναστάντα 4, ἀνελθόντα εἰς τοὺς οὐρανοὺς, καὶ πάλιν ἐρχόμενον κρί και ζῶντας καὶ νεκρούς· καὶ εἰς τὸ ἅγιον Πνεῦμα, καὶ εἰς σαρκὸς ἀνάστασιν, καὶ εἰς ζωὴν τοῦ μέλλοντος αἰῶνος, καὶ εἰς βασιλείαν οὐρανῶν, καὶ εἰς μίαν καθολικὴν Ἑκκλησίαν 6 τοῦ Θεοῦ, τὴν ἀπὸ περάτων ἕως περάτων 4. Ταύτην δὲ τὴν πίστιν παρειλήφαμεν ἐκ τῶν ἁγίων Εὐαγγελίων, λέγοντος τοῦ Κυρίου τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ μαθηταῖς· Πορευθέντες μαθητεύσατε πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, βαπτίζοντες αὐτοὺς εἰς ὄνομα τοῦ Πατρὸς καὶ του Υἱοῦ και τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος. μετ᾿ ἀλλήλων τὰς συνήθεις εὐχὰς ὑπὲρ τῆς εἰρηνικῆς τες ποιησώμεθα. Εἰ μὴ, ταῦτα οὕτως πιστεύομεν καὶ ἀποδεχόμεθα ἀληθῶς, Πατέρα, Υἱὸν καὶ Πνεῦμα ἅγιον, ὡς πᾶσα Καθολική Εκκλησία, καὶ αἱ Γραφαὶ διδάσκουσιν, αἷς κατὰ πάντα πιστεύομεν, κριτής ἡμῶν ἐστιν ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ νῦν, καὶ ἐν τῇ μελλούσῃ κρίσει. Διὸ παρακαλοῦμέν σου τὴν θεοσέβειαν, θεοφιλέστατε βασιλεῦ, ἐκκλησιαστικοὺς ἡμᾶς ὄντας, καὶ πίστιν καὶ τὸ φρόνημα τῆς Ἐκκλησίας καὶ τῶν ἁγίων Γραφῶν ἔχοντας, ἑνοῦσθαι ἡμᾶς διὰ τῆς εἰρηνοποιοῦ σου καὶ θεοσεβοῦς εὐσεβείας, τῇ μητρὶ ἡμῶν, τῇ Ἐκκλησίᾳ δηλα - δή, περιῃρημένων τῶν ζητημάτων καὶ περισσολογιῶν, ἵνα καὶ ἡμεῖς καὶ ἡ Ἑκκλησία εἰρηνεύσαντες, σου βασιλείας καὶ παντὸς τοῦ γένους σου, κοινῇ πάν-
Hoi de biblion syntaxantes, tǭ basilei proskomi zousi, touton echon ton tropon; Tǭ eulabestatǭ kai theophilestatǭ despotę̄ hēmōn basilei Kōstantinǭ, Areios kai Euzōïos; Kathōs prosetaxen hē theophilēs sou eusebeia, despota basileu, ektithemetha tēn heautōn pistin, kai engraphōs homologoumen epi Theou, houtōs pisteuein kai autoi kai hoi syn hēmin, hōs hypotetaktai. Pisteuomen eis hena Theon, Patera pantokratora; kai eis Kyrion Iēsoun Christon ton Huion autou, ton ex autou pro pantōn tōn aiōnōn gegenēmenon; Theon Logon, di' hou ta panta egeneto, tate en tois ouranois, kai ta epi tēs gēs; ton katelthonta kai sarkōthenta, kai pathonta, kai anastanta 4, anelthonta eis tous ouranous, kai palin erchomenon kri kai zōntas kai nekrous; kai eis to hagion Pneuma, kai eis sarkos anastasin, kai eis zōēn tou mellontos aiōnos, kai eis basileian ouranōn, kai eis mian katholikēn Hekklēsian 6 tou Theou, tēn apo peratōn heōs peratōn 4. Tautēn de tēn pistin pareilēphamen ek tōn hagiōn Euangeliōn, legontos tou Kyriou tois heautou mathētais; Poreuthentes mathēteusate panta ta ethnē, baptizontes autous eis onoma tou Patros kai tou Huiou kai tou hagiou Pneumatos. met᾿ allēlōn tas synētheis euchas hyper tēs eirēnikēs tes poiēsōmetha. Ei mē, tauta houtōs pisteuomen kai apodechometha alēthōs, Patera, Huion kai Pneuma hagion, hōs pasa Katholikē Ekklēsia, kai hai Graphai didaskousin, hais kata panta pisteuomen, kritēs hēmōn estin ho Theos, kai nyn, kai en tę̄ mellousę̄ krisei. Dio parakaloumen sou tēn theosebeian, theophilestate basileu, ekklēsiastikous hēmas ontas, kai pistin kai to phronēma tēs Ekklēsias kai tōn hagiōn Graphōn echontas, henousthai hēmas dia tēs eirēnopoiou sou kai theosebous eusebeias, tę̄ mētri hēmōn, tę̄ Ekklēsią dēla - dē, perię̄rēmenōn tōn zētēmatōn kai perissologiōn, hina kai hēmeis kai hē Hekklēsia eirēneusantes, sou basileias kai pantos tou genous sou, koinę̄ pan-
They composed a statement and brought it to the emperor, in these terms: “To our most pious and most God-loving lord, the emperor Constantine, Arius and Euzoius. As your God-loving piety commanded, lord emperor, we set out our own faith, and we confess in writing before God that we and those with us believe as follows. We believe in one God, the Father Almighty; and in the Lord Jesus Christ his Son, begotten from him before all ages, God the Word, through whom all things came to be, things in the heavens and things on earth; who came down and was made flesh, and suffered, and rose again, ascended into the heavens, and is coming again to judge the living and the dead; and in the Holy Spirit, and in the resurrection of the flesh, and in the life of the age to come, and in the kingdom of the heavens, and in one catholic church of God, which extends from one end of the earth to the other. This faith we have received from the holy Gospels, the Lord saying to his disciples, ‘Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.’ If we do not truly believe these things and accept them, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as the whole catholic church and the Scriptures teach, which we believe in every respect, God is our judge both now and at the coming judgment. Therefore we entreat your godliness, most God-loving emperor, that we, who are men of the church and hold the faith and mind of the church and of the holy Scriptures, may be united through your peacemaking and godly piety to our mother, that is, the church, the questions and superfluous words having been set aside; so that we and the church, being at peace with one another, may all in common offer the customary prayers for your peaceful reign and for all your family.”
Matt 28:19 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Arius and Euzoius submit to Constantine a brief creed, without homoousios, and ask to be reunited with the church.
- The statement of Arius and Euzoius is quoted in full. Its creed avoids the disputed terms of Nicaea.
- The scan displaces the line “with one another the customary prayers for your peaceful [reign]” into the middle of the letter, and the last syllables of the final sentence stand at the beginning of 1.27; the sentence is translated whole here.
Topics: Trinity, Christology, Heresy
Cite (SBL): Socrates, Hist. eccl. 1.26 (PG 67:149–151; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/1-26). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/1-26
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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from Valesius's Greek text as printed in Migne PG 67 (Bavarian State Library OCR and Tesseract re-OCR); every chapter compared afterwards with Zenos's English in NPNF² 2.
1.27PG 67:151–157
ποίηνται. Οὕτω μὲν οὖν Ἄρειος τὸν βασιλέα πείσας, ἐχώρει ἐπὶ τὴν ᾿Αλεξάνδρειαν. Οὐ μέντοι γε κρείσσων ἡ κατασκευὴ τῆς σιωπωμένης ἀληθείας ἐγίνετο· ὡς γὰρ και ταλαμβάνοντα αὐτὸν τὴν ᾿Αλεξάνδρειαν ᾿Αθανάσιος οὐκ ἐδέχετο· ὡς μῦσος γὰρ αὐτὸν ἐξετρέπετο· αὖθις ἀνακινεῖν ἐπεχείρει τὴν ᾿Αλεξάνδρειαν, παρεμβαλών τὴν αἵρεσιν. Τότε δὴ καὶ οἱ περὶ Εὐσέβιον αὐτοί τε ἔγραφον, καὶ τὸν βασιλέα γράφειν παρεσκεύαζον, ὅπως ἂν προσδεχθῶσιν οἱ περὶ "Αρειον. ᾿Αθανάσιος ( μὲν οὖν πάντη τοῦ δέξασθαι αὐτοὺς ἀπηγόρευσε· καὶ ἄγειν ἐσπούδαζε. Τότε δὴ καιρὸν εὔκαιρον οἱ περὶ Εὐσέβιον εὑρηκέναι νομίσαντες, ἀπεχθῶς πρὸς ᾿Αθατὸν βασιλέα γράφων ἐδίδασκεν, ἀδύνατον εἶναι τοὺς ἅπαξ τὴν πίστιν ἀθετήσαντας, καὶ ἀναθεματισθέντας, αὖθις ἐξ ὑποστροφῆς συλλαμβάνεσθαι. Ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς βαρέως ἐνεγκὼν, τάδε ᾿Αθανασίῳ γράφων ἠπείλησε. Μέρος ἐπιστολῆς τοῦ βασιλέως· Ἔχων τοίνυν τῆς ἐμῆς βουλῆς τὸ γνώρισμα, πᾶσι τοῖς βουλομένοις εἰς τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν εἰσελθεῖν, ἀκώλυτον παράσχου τὴν εἴσοδον. Ἐὰν γὰρ γνῶ ὡς κεκώλυκας τινὰς αὐτῶν τῆς Ἐκκλησίας μεταποιουμένους, ἢ ἀπεῖρξας τῆς εἰσόδου, ἀποστελῶ παραχρῆμα τὸν καθαιρήσοντά σε ἐξ ἐμῆς κελεύσεως, καὶ τῶν τόπων μεταστήσοντα. Ταῦτα ἔγραφεν ὁ βασιλεὺς, τοῦ λυσιτελοῦντος γινόμενος, καὶ μὴ βουλόμενος τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν διασπᾶσθαι. Τοὺς γὰρ πάντας ἐπὶ τὴν ὁμόνοιαν νάσιον ἔχοντες, τὴν τοῦ βσοσιλέως λύπην ὑπουργὸν ἐλάμβανον τοῦ ἰδίου σκοποῦ. Καὶ διὸ τοῦτο ἐχύχων, ἀποχινῆσαι αὐτὸν τῆς ἐπισχηπῆς σπουδάζοντες" οὕτω γὰρ ἤλπιζον μόνω: τὴν ᾿Αρειανὴν δόξαν κρατήσειν, ᾿Αθανασίου ἐκποδὼν γινομένου. Συμπαρατάττονται οὖν αὐτοῦ, Εὐσέδιος ὁ Νικομηδεία:, Θέογνις Νικαίας, “Μάρις Χαλκηδόνος, Θὑρσάχιο; Σιγγιδόνος τῆς ἄνω Μυσίας, Οὐάλης Μουρτῶν τῆς Παννονίας. Οὗτοι μισθοῦνται τινὰς τῆς Μελιτίου αἱρέσεως, διαφόρους κατὰ ᾿Αθανασίου κατηγορίας ἐχίνησαν. Καὶ πρῶτον μὲν διὰ Ἰσίωνος Εὐδαίμηνος Καλλινίχου Μελιτιανῶν, διαβολὴν ἐργάζονται, ὡς ᾿Αθανασίου λινῆν ἐσθῆτα τελεῖν τοὺς Αἰγυπτίους τῇ ᾿Αλεξανδρέων Ἐχχλησέχ κελεύσαντος. ᾿Αλλὰ ταύτὴν μὲν τὴν διαδολῆν, ᾿Αλύπιος καὶ Μακάριος πρεσβύτεροι τῆς ᾿Αλεξανδρέων, τότε τυχηρῶς ἐν Νιχομτδείᾳ τυγχάνοντες χατέσύεσαν, ψευδῆ τὰ ᾿Αθανασίου λεχθέντα διδάξαντες τὸν βασιλέα. Διὸ τῶν μὲν κατηγόρων διὰ γραμμάτων ὁ βασιλεὺς χαθέψατο" ᾿Αθανάσιον δὲ πρὸς ἑαυτὸν ἐλθεῖν προσετρέψατο. Πρινὴ δὲ ἐπιστῇ, φθάσαντες οἱ περὶ Εὐσέδιον, ἑτέραν ἐπισυνάπτουσι τῇ προτέρχ διαδολῇ. καὶ πολλῷ τῆς προτέρας χείρονα" ὡς ᾿Αθανάσιος ἐπιβου - λεύων τοῖς βασιλέως πράγμασι, Φιλουμένῳ τινὶ ἔπεμψε γλωσσόχομον πλῆρες ᾿Αλλὰ περὶ μὲν τούτου ὁ βατιλεὺς ἐν Ῥαμαθέχ, προάστειον δὲ τοῦτο τῆς Νιχομτδείας ἐστὶ, διαγνοὺς, ἀθῶον εὑρὼν ᾿Αθανάσιον, μετὰ τιμῆς ἐξέπεμψε, γράψας τῇ ᾿Αλεξ. ανδρέων Ἐκκλησία, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐπίσχοπο: ᾿Αθανάτιος ψευδῶς διεδέδλητο. Οἵα μέντοι μεταταῦτα οἱ περὶ Εὐσέδιον κατὰ ᾿Αθανασίου συνέθεσαν, καλὴν μὲν ἦν καὶ πρέπον σιγῇ παραδοῦναι, ἵνα μὴ τοῦ Χριστοῦ Ἐκκλησία τῶν μὴ φρονούντων τὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ χαταγινώσχηται. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἐγγράφως ἐπ:δοῦέν.πα, φανερὰ τοῖς; πᾶσιν ἐγένετο, διατοῦτο ἀναγκαῖον ἡ ησάμτν ὡς οἷόν τε διὰ βραχέων εἰπεῖν τὰ ἰδιαζούσης πραγματείας δεόμενα. “Ὅθεν δὲ ἡ τῆς συκοφαντίας ὑπόθεσις οἱ τὰς συκοφαντίας χινήσαντες ἔλαδην τὴν ἀρχὴν, διὰ βραχέων ἐρῶ. Μιχρεώτης χώρα τῆς ᾿Αλεξανδρείας ἐστί. Κῶμαι δέ εἰσιν ἐν οἱ οἱ αὐτῇ πολλαὶ σφόδρα καὶ πολυάνθρωποι, καὶ ἐν αὐ ταῖς ἐκκλησίαι πολλαὶ καὶ λαμπραί. Τάττονται δὲ αὖται αἱ ἐκκλησίαι ὑπὸ τῷ τῆς ᾿Αλεξανδρείας ἐπισκόπῳ, καὶ εἰσὶν ὑπὸ τὴν αὐτοῦ πόλιν ὡς παροικίαι. Ἐν δὲ τῷ Μαρεώτῃ τούτῳ Ἰσχύρας τις οὕτω καλούμενος, πρᾶγμα ὑπέδυ πολλῶν θανάτων ἄξιον. Οὐδὲ πώποτε γὰρ ἱερωσύνης τυχών, τὸ τοῦ πρεσβυτέρου ὄνομα ἑαυτῷ περιθέμενος, τὰ ἱερέως πράττειν ἐτόλμησε. Φωραθεὶς τοίνυν ἐπὶ τοῖς λεγομένοις ὁ Ἰσχύρας, ἀποδρὰς ἐκεῖθεν, καὶ καταλαβὼν τὴν Νικομήδειαν, προςφεύγει τοῖς περὶ Εὐσέβιον. Οἱ δὲ μίσει τῷ πρὸς ᾿Αθανάσιον, δέχονται μὲν αὐτὸν ὡς πρεσβύτερον· ἐπαγγέλλονται δὲ καὶ τῇ τῆς ἐπισκοπῆς ἀξίᾳ τιμῆσαι, εἰ κατηγορίαν ἐνστήσεται κατὰ ᾿Αθανασίου, πρόφασιν λαμβάνοντες ὅσα ὁ Ἰσχύρας ἐπλάττετο. Ἐφήμιζε γὰρ, ὡς εἴη τὰ πάνδεινα ἐξ ἐφόδου πεπονθώς· καὶ ὅτι Μακάριος εἰσπηδήσας εἰς τὸ θυσιαστίριον, ἀνέτρεψε μὲν τὴν τράπεζαν, ποτήριον δὲ κατέαξε μυστικὸν, καὶ ὅτι τὰ ἱερὰ Βιβλία κατέκαυσε. Μισθὸν οὖν αὐτῷ, ὡς ἔφην, τῆς κατηγορίας, τὴν ἐπισκοπὴν ἐπηγγείλαντο, γινώσκοντες ὡς ἡ κατὰ Μακαρίου κατηγορία, σὺν τῷ κατηγορουμένῳ καὶ τὸν πέμψαντα καθαιρεῖ ᾿Αθανάσιον. Ταύτην μὲν οὖν τὴν κατηγορίαν ὕστερον συνεστήσαντο. Πρὸ δὲ ταύτης, τὴν παντὸς πεπληρωμένην μίσους, περὶ ἧς ἤδη λεκτέον. Χεῖρα ἀνθρώπου οὐκ οἶδα πόθεν λαβόντες, πότερον ἀνελόντες τινὰ καὶ χειροκοπήσαντες, ἢ ἤδη νεκροῦ ὄντος ἀπέκοψαν· ὁ Θεὸς οἶδε, καὶ οἱ αὐθένται τῆς πράξεως. Προεχειρίζοντο δ᾽ οὖν ὅμως αὐτὴν, ὡς Ἀρσενίου τινὸς ἐπισκόπου τῶν Μελιτιανῶν θρησκείας τυγχάνουσαν. Καὶ ταύτην ἔφερον ἐν μέσῳ, τὸν ᾿Αῤσένιον ἀποχρύψαντες" ἔλεγον τὴν χεῖρα ταύτην ᾿Αθανάτιον πρὸς μαγείας τινάς. Τὸ μὲν οὖν μέγιστον κεφάλαιον, ὃ οἱ συχοφάνται συνέθεσαν, τοιοῦτον ἦν. Οἷα δὲ φιλεῖ ἐν τοῖς τοιούτοις γίνεσθαι, ἄλλοι ἄλλα κατηγόρουν αὑτοῦ, ᾿Επετίθεντο γὰρ τότε μάλιστα, οἱ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀπεχθανόμενοι. Ταῦτα γνοὺς ὁ βασιλεὺς, γράφει τῷ χήνσορι Δαλματῷ ἀδελφιδῷ ἑαυτοῦ, ἐν ᾿Αντιοχείᾳ τῆς Συρίας διάγοντι, ἀγωγίμους ποιῆσαι τοὺς κατηγορουμένους, διαγνόντα δίκην τοὺς ἐλεγχθέντας εἰσπράξασθαι. "Ἔπεμπε δὲ καὶ Εὐσέῤιον ἅμα Θεόγνιδι, ἵνα ἐπὶ παρουσί αὐτῶν χρίνοιτο ᾿Αθανάσιος. Ὃ δὲ ὡς ἔγνω καλεῖσθαι ὑπὸ τοῦ χήνσορος, πέμπει εἰς Αἴγυπτὸν ἀναζητῆσαι τὸν ᾿Αρσένιον. Καὶ μανθάνει μὲν αὑτὸν κρύπτεσθαι " συλλαβεῖν δὲ οὐ δεδύνηται, ἄλλοσε ἀλλαχοῦ μεθιστάμενον. Παύει δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς τὸ ἐπὶ τοῦ χήνσορος δικαστήριον, δι᾽ αἰτίαν τοιαύτην.
poiēntai. Houtō men oun Areios ton basilea peisas, echōrei epi tēn ᾿Alexandreian. Ou mentoi ge kreissōn hē kataskeuē tēs siōpōmenēs alētheias egineto; hōs gar kai talambanonta auton tēn ᾿Alexandreian ᾿Athanasios ouk edecheto; hōs mysos gar auton exetrepeto; authis anakinein epecheirei tēn ᾿Alexandreian, parembalōn tēn hairesin. Tote dē kai hoi peri Eusebion autoi te egraphon, kai ton basilea graphein pareskeuazon, hopōs an prosdechthōsin hoi peri "Areion. ᾿Athanasios ( men oun pantē tou dexasthai autous apēgoreuse; kai agein espoudaze. Tote dē kairon eukairon hoi peri Eusebion heurēkenai nomisantes, apechthōs pros ᾿Athaton basilea graphōn edidasken, adynaton einai tous hapax tēn pistin athetēsantas, kai anathematisthentas, authis ex hypostrophēs syllambanesthai. Ho de basileus bareōs enenkōn, tade ᾿Athanasiǭ graphōn ēpeilēse. Meros epistolēs tou basileōs; Echōn toinyn tēs emēs boulēs to gnōrisma, pasi tois boulomenois eis tēn Ekklēsian eiselthein, akōlyton paraschou tēn eisodon. Ean gar gnō hōs kekōlykas tinas autōn tēs Ekklēsias metapoioumenous, ē apeirxas tēs eisodou, apostelō parachrēma ton kathairēsonta se ex emēs keleuseōs, kai tōn topōn metastēsonta. Tauta egraphen ho basileus, tou lysitelountos ginomenos, kai mē boulomenos tēn Ekklēsian diaspasthai. Tous gar pantas epi tēn homonoian nasion echontes, tēn tou bsosileōs lypēn hypourgon elambanon tou idiou skopou. Kai dio touto echychōn, apochinēsai auton tēs epischēpēs spoudazontes" houtō gar ēlpizon monō: tēn ᾿Areianēn doxan kratēsein, ᾿Athanasiou ekpodōn ginomenou. Symparatattontai oun autou, Eusedios ho Nikomēdeia:, Theognis Nikaias, “Maris Chalkēdonos, Thyrsachio? Singidonos tēs anō Mysias, Oualēs Mourtōn tēs Pannonias. Houtoi misthountai tinas tēs Melitiou haireseōs, diaphorous kata ᾿Athanasiou katēgorias echinēsan. Kai prōton men dia Isiōnos Eudaimēnos Kallinichou Melitianōn, diabolēn ergazontai, hōs ᾿Athanasiou linēn esthēta telein tous Aigyptious tę̄ ᾿Alexandreōn Echchlēsech keleusantos. ᾿Alla tautēn men tēn diadolēn, ᾿Alypios kai Makarios presbyteroi tēs ᾿Alexandreōn, tote tychērōs en Nichomtdeią tynchanontes chatesyesan, pseudē ta ᾿Athanasiou lechthenta didaxantes ton basilea. Dio tōn men katēgorōn dia grammatōn ho basileus chathepsato" ᾿Athanasion de pros heauton elthein prosetrepsato. Prinē de epistę̄, phthasantes hoi peri Eusedion, heteran episynaptousi tę̄ proterch diadolę̄. kai pollǭ tēs proteras cheirona" hōs ᾿Athanasios epibou - leuōn tois basileōs pragmasi, Philoumenǭ tini epempse glōssochomon plēres ᾿Alla peri men toutou ho batileus en Rhamathech, proasteion de touto tēs Nichomtdeias esti, diagnous, athōon heurōn ᾿Athanasion, meta timēs exepempse, grapsas tę̄ ᾿Alex. andreōn Ekklēsia, hoti autōn epischopo: ᾿Athanatios pseudōs diededlēto. Hoia mentoi metatauta hoi peri Eusedion kata ᾿Athanasiou synethesan, kalēn men ēn kai prepon sigę̄ paradounai, hina mē tou Christou Ekklēsia tōn mē phronountōn ta tou Christou chataginōschētai. Epeidē de engraphōs ep:douen.pa, phanera tois? pasin egeneto, diatouto anankaion hē ēsamtn hōs hoion te dia bracheōn eipein ta idiazousēs pragmateias deomena. “Hothen de hē tēs sykophantias hypothesis hoi tas sykophantias chinēsantes eladēn tēn archēn, dia bracheōn erō. Michreōtēs chōra tēs ᾿Alexandreias esti. Kōmai de eisin en hoi hoi autę̄ pollai sphodra kai polyanthrōpoi, kai en au tais ekklēsiai pollai kai lamprai. Tattontai de autai hai ekklēsiai hypo tǭ tēs ᾿Alexandreias episkopǭ, kai eisin hypo tēn autou polin hōs paroikiai. En de tǭ Mareōtę̄ toutǭ Ischyras tis houtō kaloumenos, pragma hypedy pollōn thanatōn axion. Oude pōpote gar hierōsynēs tychōn, to tou presbyterou onoma heautǭ perithemenos, ta hiereōs prattein etolmēse. Phōratheis toinyn epi tois legomenois ho Ischyras, apodras ekeithen, kai katalabōn tēn Nikomēdeian, prospheugei tois peri Eusebion. Hoi de misei tǭ pros ᾿Athanasion, dechontai men auton hōs presbyteron; epangellontai de kai tę̄ tēs episkopēs axią timēsai, ei katēgorian enstēsetai kata ᾿Athanasiou, prophasin lambanontes hosa ho Ischyras eplatteto. Ephēmize gar, hōs eiē ta pandeina ex ephodou peponthōs; kai hoti Makarios eispēdēsas eis to thysiastirion, anetrepse men tēn trapezan, potērion de kateaxe mystikon, kai hoti ta hiera Biblia katekause. Misthon oun autǭ, hōs ephēn, tēs katēgorias, tēn episkopēn epēngeilanto, ginōskontes hōs hē kata Makariou katēgoria, syn tǭ katēgoroumenǭ kai ton pempsanta kathairei ᾿Athanasion. Tautēn men oun tēn katēgorian hysteron synestēsanto. Pro de tautēs, tēn pantos peplērōmenēn misous, peri hēs ēdē lekteon. Cheira anthrōpou ouk oida pothen labontes, poteron anelontes tina kai cheirokopēsantes, ē ēdē nekrou ontos apekopsan; ho Theos oide, kai hoi authentai tēs praxeōs. Proecheirizonto d᾽ oun homōs autēn, hōs Arseniou tinos episkopou tōn Melitianōn thrēskeias tynchanousan. Kai tautēn epheron en mesǭ, ton ᾿Arsenion apochrypsantes" elegon tēn cheira tautēn ᾿Athanation pros mageias tinas. To men oun megiston kephalaion, ho hoi sychophantai synethesan, toiouton ēn. Hoia de philei en tois toioutois ginesthai, alloi alla katēgoroun hautou, ᾿Epetithento gar tote malista, hoi pros auton apechthanomenoi. Tauta gnous ho basileus, graphei tǭ chēnsori Dalmatǭ adelphidǭ heautou, en ᾿Antiocheią tēs Syrias diagonti, agōgimous poiēsai tous katēgoroumenous, diagnonta dikēn tous elenchthentas eispraxasthai. "Epempe de kai Euserion hama Theognidi, hina epi parousi autōn chrinoito ᾿Athanasios. Ho de hōs egnō kaleisthai hypo tou chēnsoros, pempei eis Aigypton anazētēsai ton ᾿Arsenion. Kai manthanei men hauton kryptesthai " syllabein de ou dedynētai, allose allachou methistamenon. Pauei de ho basileus to epi tou chēnsoros dikastērion, di᾽ aitian toiautēn.
… So Arius, having persuaded the emperor, went to Alexandria. Yet his contrivance did not prove stronger than the truth, though it was kept silent. For when he arrived at Alexandria, Athanasius would not receive him, but turned away from him as an abomination; and Arius tried to stir up Alexandria again by spreading his heresy. Then Eusebius and his party both wrote themselves and got the emperor to write, that Arius and his followers should be received. Athanasius refused altogether to receive them, and wrote to the emperor explaining that it was impossible for those who had once rejected the faith and been anathematized to be taken back again on their return. The emperor took this hard and wrote threatening Athanasius as follows. Part of the emperor’s letter: “Having, then, knowledge of my will, give unhindered entry to all who wish to enter the church. For if I learn that you have hindered any of those who claim membership in the church, or barred them from entry, I will at once send someone who will depose you by my command and remove you from your place.” The emperor wrote this out of concern for what was profitable and not wishing the church to be torn apart; for he was eager to bring all to concord. Then Eusebius and his party, thinking they had found a fitting opportunity, since they were hostile to Athanasius, took the emperor’s displeasure as a helper of their own aim. For this reason they stirred everything up, striving to remove him from the bishopric; for they hoped that only so would the Arian opinion prevail, if Athanasius were out of the way. Ranged against him, then, were Eusebius of Nicomedia, Theognis of Nicaea, Maris of Chalcedon, Ursacius of Singidunum in Upper Moesia, and Valens of Mursa in Pannonia. These hired some of the Melitian sect and raised various accusations against Athanasius.
First, through the Melitians Ision, Eudaemon, and Callinicus, they made the slanderous charge that Athanasius had ordered the Egyptians to pay a tribute of linen garments to the church of the Alexandrians. But Alypius and Macarius, presbyters of the church of Alexandria, who happened to be at Nicomedia at the time, overturned this slander, showing the emperor that what was said against Athanasius was false. So the emperor rebuked the accusers by letter and urged Athanasius to come to him. But before he arrived, Eusebius and his party anticipated him and added another slander to the first, much worse than the first: that Athanasius, plotting against the emperor’s affairs, had sent a certain Philumenus a box full of … . The emperor examined this matter at Psamathia, a suburb of Nicomedia, found Athanasius innocent, and sent him away with honour, writing to the church of the Alexandrians that their bishop Athanasius had been falsely accused.
What Eusebius and his party afterwards contrived against Athanasius it would have been good and fitting to bury in silence, so that the church of Christ might not be condemned by those who do not hold to Christ. But since these things have been set down in writing and have become known to all, I have thought it necessary to tell briefly, as far as I can, what would need a treatise of its own. Whence the matter of the slander and those who raised the slanders took their beginning I will say briefly. The Mareotis is a district of Alexandria. In it there are very many populous villages, and in them many splendid churches. These churches are placed under the bishop of Alexandria and are under his city as parishes. In this Mareotis a man called Ischyras undertook a thing deserving many deaths: though he had never received the priesthood, he took to himself the name of presbyter and dared to perform the functions of a priest. Detected in this, Ischyras ran away from there, went to Nicomedia, and took refuge with Eusebius and his party. They, out of hatred for Athanasius, received him as a presbyter and promised to honour him with the rank of bishop if he would bring an accusation against Athanasius, taking as a pretext what Ischyras invented. For he spread the report that he had suffered terrible things in an attack: that Macarius had burst into the sanctuary, overturned the table, broken a mystic cup, and burned the sacred books. As the reward for the accusation, as I said, they promised him the bishopric, knowing that an accusation against Macarius would bring down, with the accused, Athanasius who had sent him. This accusation they put together later. Before it came another, full of every hatred, of which I must now speak. Having obtained a man’s hand from I know not where, whether they killed someone and cut off his hand or cut it off someone already dead, God knows, and those who did the deed, they nevertheless produced it as belonging to one Arsenius, a bishop of the Melitian sect. They brought this into public view, having hidden Arsenius away, and said that Athanasius had … this hand for some magic arts. This was the chief charge that the slanderers put together. As usually happens in such cases, others accused him of other things; for those who were hostile to him attacked him most at that time. When the emperor learned this, he wrote to his nephew the censor Dalmatius, who was staying at Antioch in Syria, to have the accused brought before him and, having examined the matter, to punish those convicted. He also sent Eusebius together with Theognis, so that Athanasius might be tried in their presence. When Athanasius learned that he was summoned by the censor, he sent to Egypt to search for Arsenius. He learned that he was in hiding, but could not seize him, since he kept moving from one place to another. But the emperor stopped the trial before the censor, for the following reason.
Notes and citation
Summary: Arius is refused by Athanasius at Alexandria; Constantine threatens Athanasius; Eusebius’s party and the Melitians bring charges against him (linen tribute, treason, the broken chalice of Ischyras, the severed hand of Arsenius).
- The chapter opens with a fragment (“…”) belonging to the end of the letter in 1.26.
- The scan displaces several lines in the first paragraph (“and wrote to the emperor explaining”, “since they were hostile to Athanasius”, “for he was eager to bring all to concord”); they are translated in their proper places.
- Words are lost after “a box full of” (presumably gold) and in the charge about the hand (the verb, presumably “cut off”); both are marked “…”.
- Psamathia: the scan reads “Ramathea”; the place meant is a suburb of Nicomedia.
- The charge of the broken chalice (“mystic cup”) concerns the eucharistic vessels.
Topics: Heresy, Eucharist, Church office
Cite (SBL): Socrates, Hist. eccl. 1.27 (PG 67:151–157; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/1-27). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/1-27
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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from Valesius's Greek text as printed in Migne PG 67 (Bavarian State Library OCR and Tesseract re-OCR); every chapter compared afterwards with Zenos's English in NPNF² 2.
1.28PG 67:157–159
Σύνοδον ἐπισκόπων ἐχήρυξε γενέσθαι " ἐπὶ τῇ ἱερώσει τοῦ εὐκτηρίου οἴκου, ὃν ἐν τοῖς Ἱεροσολύμοις ἀνήγειρεν. Ὁδοῦ οὖν πάρεργον, πρότερον τῇ Τύρῳ ἃ ἃ συναχθέντας τοὺς ἐπισκόπους, τὰ κατὰ ᾿Αθανάσιον γυμνάσαι προσέταξεν" ὅπως ἂν ἐκεῖ πρότερον ἔκποδὼν γενομένης τῆ; ἐρεσχελίας, εἰρηνιχώτερον τὰ ἐπιθατήρια τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἐπιτελέσωσι, καθ:εροῦντες αὑτὴν τῷ Θεῷ. Τριακοστὸν δὲ ἔτος ἣν τοῦτο τῆς βασιλείας Κωνσταντίνου 9. Καὶ παρῆσαν ἐπὶ τὴν Τῦρον ἐχ διαφόρων τόπων ἐπίσκοποι τὸν ἀριθμὸν ἑξήκοντα, Διονυσίου τοῦ ἀπὸ ὑπατικῶν συναγαγόντος αὑτούς. Καὶ ἤγετο μὲν Μακάριος ὁ πρεσβύτερος τῆς ᾿Αλεξανδρείας σιδηροδέσμιος διὰ στρατιωτικῆς χειρός. ᾿Αθανάσιος δὲ ἀπαντῆσαι οὐχ ἐδούλετο, οὐ τοσοῦτον τὰς κατηγορίας εὐλαβούμενος " οὐδὲν γὰρ τῶν κατηγορουμένων ἐγίνωσκεν " ἀλλὰ φοθούμενος μή τι χαινοτομηθῇ παρὰ τὰ ἐν Νικαίᾳ τῇ τότε συνὀδὼ συναρέσαντα. Ἐδεδοίχει γὰρ τὰ τοῦ βασιλέως ἀπειλητιχὰ γράμματα. ᾿Ἐγέγραπτο γὰρ αὑτῷ, ὡς εἰ μὴ ἐχὼν ἀπαντήσοι, ἀνάγκῃ ἀχθήσεσθαι. Παρῆν οὖν ἐξ ἀνάγκης καὶ ᾿Αθανάσιος.
Synodon episkopōn echēryxe genesthai " epi tę̄ hierōsei tou euktēriou oikou, hon en tois Hierosolymois anēgeiren. Hodou oun parergon, proteron tę̄ Tyrǭ ha ha synachthentas tous episkopous, ta kata ᾿Athanasion gymnasai prosetaxen" hopōs an ekei proteron ekpodōn genomenēs tē? ereschelias, eirēnichōteron ta epithatēria tēs ekklēsias epitelesōsi, kath:erountes hautēn tǭ Theǭ. Triakoston de etos hēn touto tēs basileias Kōnstantinou 9. Kai parēsan epi tēn Tyron ech diaphorōn topōn episkopoi ton arithmon hexēkonta, Dionysiou tou apo hypatikōn synagagontos hautous. Kai ēgeto men Makarios ho presbyteros tēs ᾿Alexandreias sidērodesmios dia stratiōtikēs cheiros. ᾿Athanasios de apantēsai ouch edouleto, ou tosouton tas katēgorias eulaboumenos " ouden gar tōn katēgoroumenōn eginōsken " alla phothoumenos mē ti chainotomēthę̄ para ta en Nikaią tę̄ tote synodō synaresanta. Ededoichei gar ta tou basileōs apeilēticha grammata. ᾿Egegrapto gar hautǭ, hōs ei mē echōn apantēsoi, anankę̄ achthēsesthai. Parēn oun ex anankēs kai ᾿Athanasios.
He proclaimed that a synod of bishops should be held for the consecration of the house of prayer which he had built at Jerusalem. On the way, as a side task, he ordered the bishops to gather first at Tyre and examine the case of Athanasius, so that once the wrangling had been put out of the way there, they might more peaceably perform the dedication festival of the church, consecrating it to God. This was the thirtieth year of Constantine’s reign. Bishops from various places came to Tyre, sixty in number, Dionysius, a man of consular rank, having assembled them. Macarius, the presbyter of Alexandria, was brought in iron chains under military guard. Athanasius did not wish to attend, not so much because he feared the accusations (for he knew himself guilty of none of the charges) as because he was afraid that some innovation might be made against what had been agreed at the synod of Nicaea. But he feared the emperor’s threatening letters; for it had been written to him that if he did not come willingly he would be brought by force. So Athanasius too was present, under compulsion.
Notes and citation
Summary: Constantine has the bishops on their way to the dedication at Jerusalem meet first at Tyre (335) to judge Athanasius, who attends under compulsion.
- The thirtieth year of Constantine’s reign is 335.
Topics: Church office
Cite (SBL): Socrates, Hist. eccl. 1.28 (PG 67:157–159; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/1-28). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/1-28
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-socrates-historia-1-28) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from Valesius's Greek text as printed in Migne PG 67 (Bavarian State Library OCR and Tesseract re-OCR); every chapter compared afterwards with Zenos's English in NPNF² 2.
1.29PG 67:159–161
Θεοῦ δέ τις πρόνοια τὸν ᾿Αρσένιον ἐπὶ τὴν Τύρον ἤλαυνεν. ᾿Αμελήσας γὰρ τῶν ἐντολῶν, ὧν αὐτῷ οἱ τὰ χρήματα συχοφάνται παρασχόντες δεδώχασι, καθ᾽ ἱστορίαν τῶν γενησομένων χεχρυμμένως παρῆν. Ἔτυχε δέ πως τοῦ ὑπατικοῦ ᾿Αρχελάου οἰκέτας ἐν χαπηλείῳ ἀκοῦσαι λεγόντων τινῶν, ὡς ὁ λεγόμενος ἀνῃρῆσθαι, πάρεστιν ἕν τινος οἰκίᾳ χρυπτόμενος. Ταῦτα ἀκούσαντες, τοὺς εἰπόντας μειωσάμενοι, χαταφανῇ τὰ ἀκουσθέντα τῷ δεσπότῃ ποιοῦσιν. Ὁ δὲ ὡς εἶχε μὴ μελλήσας, ἀνεζήτησε καὶ εὗρε καὶ εὑρὼν ἢσφαλίσατο. Καὶ τῷ ᾿Αθανασίῳ δηλοῖ μηδὲν ταράστεσθαι" παρεῖναι γὰρ ζῶντα τὸν ᾿Αρσένιον. Συλληφθεὶς οὖν ᾿Ἀρσένιος, ἠρνεῖτο εἶναι ὃς ᾿Αλλ' αὐτὸν Παῦλος ὁ τῆς Τύρου ἐπίσκοπος πάλαι γινώσχων, ἐξήλεγξεν. Ταῦτα τῆς Προνοίας προευτρεπισάσης, μετ᾽ οὐ πολὺ ἐκαλεῖτο ὑπὸ τῆς συνόδου ὁ ᾿Αθανάσιος. Καὶ παρόντος, οἱ συχοφάνται τὴν χεῖρα εἰς μέσον ἦγον, καὶ τὴν κατηγορίαν ἐνίσταντο. Ὁ δὲ σοφῶς μετῆλθε τὸ πρᾶγμα. Ἠρώτησε γὰρ τοὺς παρόντας καὶ τοὺς κατηγόρους, τίνες εἶεν οἱ γινώσκοντες τὸν ᾿Αρσένιον. Πολλῶν δὲ εἰπόντων γινώσκειναὐτὸν, εἰσάγεσθαι ποιεῖ τὸν Ἀρσένιον, ἔνδον τοῦ ἱματίου τὰς χεῖρας αὐτοῦ ἔχοντα. Εἶτα αὖθις ἐρωτᾷ· Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ τὴν χεῖρα ἀπολωλεκώς ; Οἱ δὲ, ἐπὶ μὲν τῷ παραδόξῳ κατεπλάγησαν, πλὴν τῶν εἰδότων ὅθεν ἡ χεὶρ ἡ κοπεῖσα. Οἱ δὲ λοιποί, άληθῶς ᾤοντο λείπειν τῷ ᾿Αρσενίῳ τὴν χεῖρα, καὶ προσεδόκων ἐξ ἑτέρας ὑποθέσεως ἀπολογεῖσθαι τὸν ᾿Αθανάσιον. Ὁ δὲ ἀνελίξας τὸ ἱμάτιον τοῦ ᾿Αρσενίου καθ' ἕτερον τῶν μερῶν, δείκνυσι τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τὴν χεῖρα. Πάλιν δὲ νομιζόντων τινῶν τῆς ἑτέρας ὑστερεῖσθαι αὐτὸν, μικρὸν παρελκύσας, ἀμφιβόλους κατέστησεν. Εἶτα μὴ μελλήσας, καὶ τὸ ἕτερον ἀνελίξας μέρος, καὶ τὴν ἑτέραν τοῦ ᾿Αρσενίου χεῖρα ἐπέδειξεν· οὕτω τε εἶπε πρὸς τοὺς παρόντας· ᾿Αρσένιος μὲν, ὡς ὁρᾶτε, τὰς δύο χεῖρας ἔχων ἐφεύρηται. Τῆς τρίτης δὲ τὸν τόπον ὅθεν ἀφήρηται, δεικνύτωσαν οἱ κατήγοροι.
Theou de tis pronoia ton ᾿Arsenion epi tēn Tyron ēlaunen. ᾿Amelēsas gar tōn entolōn, hōn autǭ hoi ta chrēmata sychophantai paraschontes dedōchasi, kath᾽ historian tōn genēsomenōn chechrymmenōs parēn. Etyche de pōs tou hypatikou ᾿Archelaou oiketas en chapēleiǭ akousai legontōn tinōn, hōs ho legomenos anę̄rēsthai, parestin hen tinos oikią chryptomenos. Tauta akousantes, tous eipontas meiōsamenoi, chataphanę̄ ta akousthenta tǭ despotę̄ poiousin. Ho de hōs eiche mē mellēsas, anezētēse kai heure kai heurōn ēsphalisato. Kai tǭ ᾿Athanasiǭ dēloi mēden tarastesthai" pareinai gar zōnta ton ᾿Arsenion. Syllēphtheis oun ᾿Arsenios, ērneito einai hos ᾿All' auton Paulos ho tēs Tyrou episkopos palai ginōschōn, exēlenxen. Tauta tēs Pronoias proeutrepisasēs, met᾽ ou poly ekaleito hypo tēs synodou ho ᾿Athanasios. Kai parontos, hoi sychophantai tēn cheira eis meson ēgon, kai tēn katēgorian enistanto. Ho de sophōs metēlthe to pragma. Ērōtēse gar tous parontas kai tous katēgorous, tines eien hoi ginōskontes ton ᾿Arsenion. Pollōn de eipontōn ginōskeinauton, eisagesthai poiei ton Arsenion, endon tou himatiou tas cheiras autou echonta. Eita authis erōtą; Houtos estin ho tēn cheira apolōlekōs ? Hoi de, epi men tǭ paradoxǭ kateplagēsan, plēn tōn eidotōn hothen hē cheir hē kopeisa. Hoi de loipoi, alēthōs ǭonto leipein tǭ ᾿Arseniǭ tēn cheira, kai prosedokōn ex heteras hypotheseōs apologeisthai ton ᾿Athanasion. Ho de anelixas to himation tou ᾿Arseniou kath' heteron tōn merōn, deiknysi tou anthrōpou tēn cheira. Palin de nomizontōn tinōn tēs heteras hystereisthai auton, mikron parelkysas, amphibolous katestēsen. Eita mē mellēsas, kai to heteron anelixas meros, kai tēn heteran tou ᾿Arseniou cheira epedeixen; houtō te eipe pros tous parontas; ᾿Arsenios men, hōs horate, tas dyo cheiras echōn epheurētai. Tēs tritēs de ton topon hothen aphērētai, deiknytōsan hoi katēgoroi.
But a providence of God drove Arsenius to Tyre. Disregarding the instructions given him by the slanderers who had supplied him with money, he came secretly to see what would happen. It happened somehow that servants of Archelaus, a man of consular rank, heard some people in a tavern saying that the man said to have been murdered was there, hidden in someone’s house. Hearing this, they took note of the speakers and made what they had heard known to their master. He, without delay, searched, found him, and having found him put him under guard. He sent word to Athanasius not to be troubled, for Arsenius was there alive. When Arsenius was seized, he denied that he was who he was; but Paul, the bishop of Tyre, who had known him long before, proved who he was. Providence having prepared these things beforehand, Athanasius was soon summoned by the synod. When he was present, the slanderers brought the hand into the midst and pressed the accusation. But he handled the matter wisely. He asked those present and the accusers who among them knew Arsenius. When many said they knew him, he had Arsenius brought in, with his hands inside his cloak. Then he asked again: “Is this the man who lost his hand?” They were astonished at the surprise, except those who knew where the severed hand had come from. The rest really thought that Arsenius lacked a hand, and expected Athanasius to defend himself on other grounds. But he turned back Arsenius’s cloak on one side and showed the man’s hand. Again, while some thought he lacked the other hand, he waited a little and kept them in doubt. Then without delay he turned back the other side as well and showed Arsenius’s other hand, and said to those present: “Arsenius, as you see, has been found to have two hands. Let the accusers show the place from which the third was cut off.”
Notes and citation
Summary: Arsenius, supposedly murdered, is found alive at Tyre, and Athanasius confounds his accusers by showing him with both hands.
Cite (SBL): Socrates, Hist. eccl. 1.29 (PG 67:159–161; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/1-29). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/1-29
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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from Valesius's Greek text as printed in Migne PG 67 (Bavarian State Library OCR and Tesseract re-OCR); every chapter compared afterwards with Zenos's English in NPNF² 2.
1.30PG 67:161
Τούτων οὕτως ἐπὶ ᾿Αρσενίῳ πραχθέντων, ἐν ἀμηχανίᾳ μὲν οἱ ῥάψαντες τὸν δόλον κατέστησαν. ᾿Αχαάβ δὲ, ὁ καὶ Ἰωάννης, ὁ κατήγορος, τοῦ δικαστηρίου διαδὺς, ἐν τῷ θορύβῳ διέφυγε. Καὶ οὕτω μὲν ταύτην τὴν κατηγορίαν ᾿Αθανάσιος ἀπεδύσατο, μηδεμιᾷ χρησάμενος παραγραφῇ. Ἐθάῤῥει γὰρ, ὡς καταπλήξει τοὺς συκοφάντας καὶ μόνη τοῦ ᾿Αρσενίου ή ζωή.
Toutōn houtōs epi ᾿Arseniǭ prachthentōn, en amēchanią men hoi rhapsantes ton dolon katestēsan. ᾿Achaab de, ho kai Iōannēs, ho katēgoros, tou dikastēriou diadys, en tǭ thorybǭ diephyge. Kai houtō men tautēn tēn katēgorian ᾿Athanasios apedysato, mēdemią chrēsamenos paragraphę̄. Etharrhei gar, hōs kataplēxei tous sykophantas kai monē tou ᾿Arseniou ē zōē.
When this had been done concerning Arsenius, those who had stitched together the plot were at a loss. Achab, also called John, the accuser, slipped out of the court and escaped in the confusion. So Athanasius cleared himself of this charge without using any legal objection; for he was confident that the mere fact that Arsenius was alive would confound the slanderers.
Notes and citation
Summary: The accuser in the Arsenius affair flees, and Athanasius is cleared of that charge.
Cite (SBL): Socrates, Hist. eccl. 1.30 (PG 67:161; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/1-30). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/1-30
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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from Valesius's Greek text as printed in Migne PG 67 (Bavarian State Library OCR and Tesseract re-OCR); every chapter compared afterwards with Zenos's English in NPNF² 2.
1.31PG 67:161–163
Ἐπὶ δὲ ταῖς κατὰ Μακαρίου συκοφαντίαις, ταῖς νομικαῖς ἐχρήσατο παραγραφαῖς. Καὶ πρῶτον μὲν τοὺς περὶ Εὐσέβιον ὡς ἐχθροὺς παρεγράφετο, φάσκων μὴ δεῖν ἐπὶ ἀντιδίκων κρίνεσθαι· ἔπειτα δὲ καὶ δείκνυσθαι, εἰ ὁ κατήγορος Ἰσχύρας ἀληθῶς πρεσβυτέρου ἔχει ἀξίαν. Οὕτω γὰρ καὶ ἐν τῇ κατηγορίᾳ ἐγέγραπτο. Ἐπεὶ δὲ τούτων οὐδένα λόγον οἱ κριταὶ προσεδέξαντο, εἰσήχθη μὲν ἡ κατὰ Μακαρίου δίκη. ᾿Ατονησάντων δὲ τῶν κατηγόρων, ὑπέρθεσιν ἐλάμβανεν ἡ ἀκρόασις, ἐφ᾽ ᾧ παραγενέσθαι εἰς τὸν Μαρεώτην τινὰς, ἵνα ἐπὶ τῶν τόπων ζητηθῇ τὰ ἀμφίβολα. Ὡς δὲ ᾿Αθανάσιος πεμπομένους εἶδεν οὓς παρεγράψατο· ἐπέμπετο γὰρ Θέογνις, Μαρὶς, Θεόδωρος, Μακεδόνιος, Οὐάλης, Οὐρσάκιος· ἐβόα σκευωρίαν εἶναι καὶ δόλον τὰ γινόμενα· οὐδὲ γὰρ δίκαιον εἶναι, Μακάριον μὲν τὸν πρεσβύτερον ἐν δεσμοῖς εἶναι, τὸν δὲ κατήγορον ἅμα τοῖς ἐχθροῖς δικασταῖς εἶναι, ἐφ᾽ ᾧ τε ἐκ μονομεροῦς πρᾶξιν ὑπομνημάτων ποιήσασθαι. Ταῦτα βοῶντος τοῦ ᾿Αθανασίου, καὶ διαμαρτυρομένου τὸ τε κοινὸν τῆς συνόδου, καὶ τὸν ἀπὸ ὑπατικῶν Διονύσιον, καὶ ὡς οὐδεὶς αὐτοῦ λόγον ἐποιεῖτο, διαλαθὼν ἀνεχώρησεν. Οἱ μὲν οὖν ἀποσταλέντες εἰς τὸν Μαρεώτην, ἐκ μονομεροῦς ὑπομνήματα ποιήσαντες, ὡς ἀληθῶς γενομένων, ὁ κατήγορος ἔλεγεν, εἶχον.
Epi de tais kata Makariou sykophantiais, tais nomikais echrēsato paragraphais. Kai prōton men tous peri Eusebion hōs echthrous paregrapheto, phaskōn mē dein epi antidikōn krinesthai; epeita de kai deiknysthai, ei ho katēgoros Ischyras alēthōs presbyterou echei axian. Houtō gar kai en tę̄ katēgorią egegrapto. Epei de toutōn oudena logon hoi kritai prosedexanto, eisēchthē men hē kata Makariou dikē. ᾿Atonēsantōn de tōn katēgorōn, hyperthesin elambanen hē akroasis, eph᾽ hǭ paragenesthai eis ton Mareōtēn tinas, hina epi tōn topōn zētēthę̄ ta amphibola. Hōs de ᾿Athanasios pempomenous eiden hous paregrapsato; epempeto gar Theognis, Maris, Theodōros, Makedonios, Oualēs, Oursakios; eboa skeuōrian einai kai dolon ta ginomena; oude gar dikaion einai, Makarion men ton presbyteron en desmois einai, ton de katēgoron hama tois echthrois dikastais einai, eph᾽ hǭ te ek monomerous praxin hypomnēmatōn poiēsasthai. Tauta boōntos tou ᾿Athanasiou, kai diamartyromenou to te koinon tēs synodou, kai ton apo hypatikōn Dionysion, kai hōs oudeis autou logon epoieito, dialathōn anechōrēsen. Hoi men oun apostalentes eis ton Mareōtēn, ek monomerous hypomnēmata poiēsantes, hōs alēthōs genomenōn, ho katēgoros elegen, eichon.
Against the slanders concerning Macarius he used legal objections. First he objected to Eusebius and his party as enemies, saying that he ought not to be tried before his adversaries. Then he asked that it be shown whether the accuser Ischyras really had the rank of presbyter; for so it had been written in the accusation. When the judges accepted none of these objections, the case against Macarius was brought on. But when the accusers failed, the hearing was adjourned so that some might go to the Mareotis to investigate the doubtful points on the spot. When Athanasius saw that those he had objected to were being sent (for Theognis, Maris, Theodore, Macedonius, Valens, and Ursacius were sent), he cried out that what was happening was a plot and a fraud: for it was not just that Macarius the presbyter should be in chains, while the accuser was with the judges, who were his enemies, so that they could draw up a one-sided record. When Athanasius cried out this and appealed to the whole synod and to Dionysius the consular, and no one took any notice of him, he withdrew secretly. Those sent to the Mareotis drew up a one-sided record and held as truly done what the accuser said.
Notes and citation
Summary: Athanasius objects to his judges in the Ischyras affair; when a hostile commission is sent to the Mareotis, he leaves Tyre secretly.
Cite (SBL): Socrates, Hist. eccl. 1.31 (PG 67:161–163; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/1-31). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/1-31
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-socrates-historia-1-31) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from Valesius's Greek text as printed in Migne PG 67 (Bavarian State Library OCR and Tesseract re-OCR); every chapter compared afterwards with Zenos's English in NPNF² 2.
1.32PG 67:163
Καὶ ᾿Αθανάσιος μὲν ἀναχωρήσας, πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα ἀνέδραμεν. Ἡ σύνοδος δὲ, πρῶτον μὲν ἐρήμην αὐτοῦ κατεδιήτησεν. Ὡς δὲ καὶ τὰ ἐν τῷ Μαρεώτη πεπραγμένα συνέφθασε, καθαίρεσιν ἐψηφίσαντο 9 πολλά ἐν τοῖς καθαιρετικοῖς αὐτὸν λοιδορήσαντες, καὶ τῆς ἐπὶ τῷ φόνῳ κατηγορίας τῶν συκοφαντῶν τὴν ἧτταν άποσιγήσαντες. Ἐδέξαντο δὲ καὶ αὐτὸν ᾿Αρσένιον, τὸν ἀνῃρῆσθαι λεγόμενον. Ὃς πρότερον μὲν τῆς Μελιτιανῶν θρησκείας ἐπίσκοπος ἦν· τότε δὲ εἰς τὴν κατὰ ᾿Αθανασίου καθαίρεσιν, ὡς τῆς Ὑψηλοπολιτῶν πόλεως ἐπίσκοπος καθυπέγραψε. Καὶ τὸ παράδοξον, ὁ λεγόμενος ἀνῃρῆσθαι ὑπὸ ᾿Αθανασίου, ζῶν καθαιρεῖ τὸν ᾿Αθανάσιον.
Kai ᾿Athanasios men anachōrēsas, pros ton basilea anedramen. Hē synodos de, prōton men erēmēn autou katediētēsen. Hōs de kai ta en tǭ Mareōtē pepragmena synephthase, kathairesin epsēphisanto 9 polla en tois kathairetikois auton loidorēsantes, kai tēs epi tǭ phonǭ katēgorias tōn sykophantōn tēn hēttan aposigēsantes. Edexanto de kai auton ᾿Arsenion, ton anę̄rēsthai legomenon. Hos proteron men tēs Melitianōn thrēskeias episkopos ēn; tote de eis tēn kata ᾿Athanasiou kathairesin, hōs tēs Hypsēlopolitōn poleōs episkopos kathypegrapse. Kai to paradoxon, ho legomenos anę̄rēsthai hypo ᾿Athanasiou, zōn kathairei ton ᾿Athanasion.
Athanasius, having withdrawn, hastened to the emperor. The synod first condemned him in his absence; and when the proceedings in the Mareotis arrived, they voted his deposition, reviling him much in the decree of deposition and passing over in silence the defeat of the slanderers on the charge of murder. They also received Arsenius himself, the man said to have been murdered. He had formerly been a bishop of the Melitian sect; now he signed the deposition of Athanasius as bishop of the city of Hypsele. And the strange thing is that the man said to have been murdered by Athanasius, being alive, deposes Athanasius.
Notes and citation
Summary: The synod of Tyre deposes Athanasius in his absence; Arsenius himself signs the deposition.
Cite (SBL): Socrates, Hist. eccl. 1.32 (PG 67:163; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/1-32). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/1-32
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-socrates-historia-1-32) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from Valesius's Greek text as printed in Migne PG 67 (Bavarian State Library OCR and Tesseract re-OCR); every chapter compared afterwards with Zenos's English in NPNF² 2.
1.33PG 67:163–165
Παρῆν δὲ εὐθὺς γράμματα τοῦ βασιλέως, σημα!νοντα ἐπὶ τὴν νέαν Ἱερουσαλήμ σπεύδειν τὴν σύνοδον. Εὐθύς τε ὡς εἶχον, ἐκ τῆς Τύρου σπουδαίως ἐπὶ τὰ Ἱεροσόλυμα ἐπορεύοντο. Πάνδημον δὲ ποιήσαντες ἑορτὴν ἐπὶ τῇ καθιερώσει τῶν τόπων, ῎Αρειον μὲν καὶ τοὺς περὶ αὐτὸν ἐδέξαντο, τοῖς βασιλέως 69 γράμμασι πειθαρχεῖν λέγοντες, δι' ὧν δεδηλώκει αὐτοῖς, πεπεῖσθαι περὶ τῆς πίστεως Αρείου καὶ Εύζωΐου. Ἔγραφον δὲ καὶ τῇ ᾿Αλεξανδρέων Ἐκκλησίᾳ, ὡς παντὸς ἐξιρισθέντος φθόνου, ἐν εἰρήνῃ τὰ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας καθέστηκε πράγματα· καὶ ὅτι῎Αρειος ἐκ μετανοίας ἐπιγνοὺς τὴν ἀλήθειαν, ὡς λοιπὸν τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ὢν, δικαίως καὶ λοιπὸν παρ' αὐτῶν προσδεχθεὶς, καὶ ἐξορισθέντα τὸν ᾿Αθανάσιον αἰνιττόμενοι. Οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ τῷ βασιλεῖ τὰ περὶ τῶν αὐτῶν γνώριμα καθίστων. Ταῦτα δὴ τῶν ἐπισκόπων διατεθέντων, ἐπικαταλαμβάνει ἕτερα τοῦ βασιλέως γράμματα, σημαίνοντα ᾿Αθανάσιον μὲν ἀναδεδραμηκέναι πρὸς αὐτόν ς· αὐτοὺς δὲ ἀναγκαῖον εἶναι δι' αὐτὸν παραγενέσθαι ἐν Κωνσταντίνου πόλει. Ἔστι δὲ τὰ ἐπικαταλαβόντα γράμματα τοῦ βασιλέως τάδε.
Parēn de euthys grammata tou basileōs, sēma!nonta epi tēn nean Hierousalēm speudein tēn synodon. Euthys te hōs eichon, ek tēs Tyrou spoudaiōs epi ta Hierosolyma eporeuonto. Pandēmon de poiēsantes heortēn epi tę̄ kathierōsei tōn topōn, ᾿Areion men kai tous peri auton edexanto, tois basileōs 69 grammasi peitharchein legontes, di' hōn dedēlōkei autois, pepeisthai peri tēs pisteōs Areiou kai Euzōïou. Egraphon de kai tę̄ ᾿Alexandreōn Ekklēsią, hōs pantos exiristhentos phthonou, en eirēnę̄ ta tēs Ekklēsias kathestēke pragmata; kai hoti᾿Areios ek metanoias epignous tēn alētheian, hōs loipon tēs Ekklēsias ōn, dikaiōs kai loipon par' autōn prosdechtheis, kai exoristhenta ton ᾿Athanasion ainittomenoi. Ou mēn alla kai tǭ basilei ta peri tōn autōn gnōrima kathistōn. Tauta dē tōn episkopōn diatethentōn, epikatalambanei hetera tou basileōs grammata, sēmainonta ᾿Athanasion men anadedramēkenai pros auton s; autous de anankaion einai di' auton paragenesthai en Kōnstantinou polei. Esti de ta epikatalabonta grammata tou basileōs tade.
At once a letter came from the emperor directing the synod to hasten to the New Jerusalem. Immediately, just as they were, they went with haste from Tyre to Jerusalem. Holding a public festival for the consecration of the places, they received Arius and his followers, saying that they were obeying the emperor’s letter, in which he had told them that he was satisfied about the faith of Arius and Euzoius. They also wrote to the church of the Alexandrians that, all envy having been banished, the affairs of the church were at peace; and that Arius, having recognized the truth by repentance, was rightly received by them henceforth as belonging to the church, hinting also at the exile of Athanasius. They also made these same things known to the emperor. While the bishops were so engaged, another letter of the emperor overtook them, saying that Athanasius had hastened to him and that they must come to Constantinople on his account. The emperor’s letter that overtook them is as follows.
Notes and citation
Summary: At Jerusalem the bishops dedicate the church and receive Arius; a letter of Constantine then summons them to Constantinople because Athanasius has appealed to him.
Topics: Heresy
Cite (SBL): Socrates, Hist. eccl. 1.33 (PG 67:163–165; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/1-33). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/1-33
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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from Valesius's Greek text as printed in Migne PG 67 (Bavarian State Library OCR and Tesseract re-OCR); every chapter compared afterwards with Zenos's English in NPNF² 2.